


Maggie's Rules for Fighting, Survival and Meeting Your Father After Seventeen Years

by dieselpunkd



Category: Veronica Mars (TV), Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: Daddy Issues, Family, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-07
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-05 10:06:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5371286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dieselpunkd/pseuds/dieselpunkd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seventeen year old Maggie had a life she could handle, maybe not a good one, but she had it under control. But her mother's death sends this life spiraling out of control. Now she has a dad, a new home and a new life that she doesn't have under control. She might be okay though, if she sticks to her well tested rules. (Post MKAT Universe)</p>
<p>Update I am still working on this. Real life just handed me my ass recently, but hopefully a new chapter soon</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

The shrill ring of his phone woke Logan from sleep. The phone number wasn’t one of his contacts, but he answered it anyway. He’d had enough late night bail calls from Dick to get in the habit. “Hello?” he asked, voice still rough with sleep.

“Is this Logan Echolls?” the voice on the other end asked. It wasn’t Dick. Although that didn’t quite rule out Dick needing him to pay bail.

“Yes.”

“Sir, we have your daughter here…”

Logan was sure he had heard wrong or maybe he was still dreaming. “Did you just say you have my daughter?”

“Yes sir.”

“And where is here?

“Bozeman Montanta.”

Logan frowned. He didn’t know anyone in Montana. Beside him, Veronica woke, looking up at him curiously. “Okay,” he said a little slowly, mind working to figure out why they would be calling him. It couldn’t be good if they were calling her long lost father instead of her mother. Or literally anyone else.

“Her mother just passed away and you’re her next of kin. We thought we should call you before putting her in the system,” he paused, “If you ask me they should’ve called you a long time ago.”

Logan didn’t say anything for a long moment. His mind was still trying to wrap around the idea that he was a father. That he had been a father for awhile by the sound of it. Finally, brain still wrapping itself around the whole concept, he said, “I’ll be on the next plane.”

First there was the sigh of relief. “Ask for Deputy Meyers when you get here,” came next.

Hanging up would be after that. “Wait, what’s her name?” Logan asked.

“Maggie… well, Margaret White.”

“Thanks.”

Last was the click of the phone being hung up.

Logan waited to get out of bed just long enough to set the phone down and give Veronica a quick kiss. “What’s going on?” she asked, sitting up. Because of course she knew something was up. She could always read him like a book. And to be fair he was packing in the middle of the night after a mysterious phone call. He glanced up at the petite blonde whose blue eyes were bright with curiosity.

“I have a daughter,” Logan replied. His voice was sort of breathless as his mind finally got around the fact.

“Come again?” she asked.

“I’m as surprised as you are Bobcat. But her mom just died and if she’s anything like me…”

Veronica’s expression softened, the way it always did when she thought he was getting sentimental. “And you don’t think this is…” she asked cautiously.

Logan shrugged, “I don’t know. But I don’t think so.”

“But you think you’ll know if she’s really yours when you see her or something?”

“That’s what they say isn’t it? That a man becomes a father the minute he sees his kid.”

She paused, thinking. And Logan knew what she was going to offer, to investigate before he flew out. He kissed her before she could say anything. As he pulled away he whispered, “Just try to leave it for now. If anything’s fishy you can go full Nancy Drew okay?”

Veronica sighed. She wasn’t happy about the prospect, but after all they’d been through she would respect it. And since he hadn’t given her a name there wasn’t much she could do. She went for another kiss, “Come back soon.”

“Always,” Logan replied with a smile.


	2. Rule #1: Put Your Best Foot Forward

Three hours. Maggie had been in this dingy interrogation room for three hours. It was just the cherry on top of an already terrible Sunday. Not for the first time in her life she wished she was eighteen. If only she wasn’t a minor, she could’ve been on her way hours ago. She slouched in her chair. It was funny, maybe, that she was most herself here. But when the goal was to get written off as un-savable her authentic blend of snarky cynicism worked like a charm. She didn’t need the system to worry about her. She had her life under control. Or she had her life under control. Or she had her life under control, before.

Deputy Hank Meyers, the officer who had brought her in to the station, three hours ago, walked into the room. “C’mon Hank, you can’t just keep me here. I didn’t do anything,” Maggie said, voice betraying her frustration.

Hank sighed. They had met a few times before and Maggie liked him in general. She always got the feeling he actually wanted to help her out of whatever shitty situation she was in. And that he understood the system would do her no good. “We can’t just let you go either,” he said, “I know a drug dealer or two who’d love your head.”

Maggie frowned. She had been careful when taking care of dealers. There was no common link to what happened to any of them. Well except for her mother Annie, but she had always been just another drug addict to them.

“Enough of your mother’s dealers get picked up and they start talking,” he added seeming to pick up on her thoughts.

“So what? You’ll keep me here indefinitely? Pretty sure there are laws about that.”

He sighed again. Usually Maggie could convince him to let her go. She knew how to play on his innate generosity. This time felt different though. After a long moment of internal debate Hank replied, “Your father’s coming to pick you up Maggie.”

That made her sit up and shut up. Her emotions registered in her expression, for the first time since her arrival. Not anger or annoyance, but shock. Complete and utter shock. “You know who my father is?” she asked, voice small and a little scared.

Hank nodded.

“And he’s coming here?”

He nodded.

“Holy fucking shit,” Maggie replied voice barely above a whisper, still shell shocked. She stared off into space, trying to understand. Her father was coming. Here. And now. She didn’t know anything about him. Except that when she was angry Annie used to spit that Maggie was her father’s daughter. But something smaller occurred to her. It had only been three hours, which wasn’t enough time to both investigate who her father was and call him. “How long have you known?” she asked.

Looking down at his feet Hank didn’t respond at first. “Four years,” he admitted finally.

Metal scrapped against concrete as Maggie stood shoving her chair behind her. “Four years. I could’ve gotten out of here four years ago?” she asked in a choked shout.

“He accused of murder at the time…” Hank began, brown eyes pleading with her.

“At the time?” she said taking a step forward, “But not now? Not three years ago or two?” She paused to continue processing the information. The betrayal outweighed any excitement or fear about meeting her father. “Do you know how many fights I’ve been in in the last four years? How many times I…” Maggie trailed off shaking her head, too angry to say anything else. “I need a minute,” she said brushing past Deputy Meyers. Even thinking of him as Hank was quickly becoming impossible. Breezing past the other officers and office workers Maggie made a beeline for the bathroom.

She looked like hell. Although to be fair she always looked like hell. Her bag was still in the interrogation room. But there were still a few things she could do to pull herself together. First were a few deep breaths. She then washed her face, clearing away salt and mascara. Next she took a moment to inspect herself in the mirror, make sure everything was in its place. She had to fix her hair a little. She took another deep breath.

Things were going to be different. Well, things were going to be different anyway. Annie’s final overdose had turned Maggie’s, at least under control, life upside down. But she couldn’t quite help herself from hoping that things would be better. Hope never panned out though. Hope had always been a mistake. She needed to prepare herself for a man who felt no emotional connection to her. Considering they had never met it would be expected, fair even. In all honesty Maggie didn’t know that much about him either. This was going to be a one-time meeting and then she would go about her life. She could handle it. Stay tough and she’d manage. After this nonsense, Maggie would go back to her house and pack. Letting herself be swallowed by the system wasn’t an option. She wasn’t going to hop from house to house when people decided she was more trouble than she was worth. Disappearing seemed like a much better option.

Once sure there was no trace of her emotions in her expression Maggie walked back to the interrogation room. Without a word to Deputy Meyers she dropped herself into the plastic chair. Her make up was a quick fix, just a few light touches and a little smudging. Over the years she had gotten quite apt at looking like she hadn’t just been crying or fighting or doing anything she shouldn’t be.

Another hour passed. Deputy Meyers had gone off somewhere else, probably paperwork. After realizing he wouldn’t get anything else out of her he’d given up and left. Nearly falling asleep Maggie dragged her chair into the corner to catch some shuteye. Occasionally she would wake with a start. But it was commonplace enough that she fell back asleep easily. Anyway it had been a long day. Her feelings about it were difficult to process, too complicated to deal with right now. There was very little love lost between her and Annie. The woman had abandoned her since day one. And she’d always been more concerned about her next hit than her daughter. But it was a life Maggie could handle. It was a life she knew how to deal with. Now it was going to be different, something she didn’t know if she could deal with.

Maggie woke to someone calling her name. She opened her eyes slowly, uncurling herself as she did so. In front of her stood Deputy Meyers and a tall man she didn’t know. He stood straight, sure of himself. If she had to guess she might say he was military or maybe an actor. His skin was tanned from long days in the sun. His brown eyes were kind though, soft somehow. As far as age Maggie would guess early thirties. He wore a wrinkled button down paired with jeans.

“Logan meet your daughter Margaret,” Deputy Meyers said nervousness in his voice, “Margaret meet your father Logan.”

As it turned out nothing had quite prepared her for the reality of meeting her father. For several minutes she couldn’t find anything to say. And this was Maggie who always had something snarky to say. Instead she stood slowly, watching him. And he was watching her back. It wasn’t quite like looking into a mirror. Maybe more like a funhouse mirror. They had the same eyes and the same expression, one of confusion and wonder. Obviously Maggie had always known that she had a father. Everyone has a father. But she never let herself think about him because it wasn’t like they were ever going to meet. The only time she thought about him was when Annie was screaming at her about how she was her father’s daughter.

Except now he was standing in front of her.

“This is totally weird,” were Logan’s first words.

Maggie laughed. She had to. “Yeah, super fucking weird,” she replied.

They stared at each other again. Deputy Meyers waited awkwardly.

“You hungry?” he asked finally.

“Yeah,” she replied with a nod. It was probably a good enough place to start. Besides she was starving.

Logan turned to Deputy Meyers, as if to ask if it was alright. “She’s officially remanded to your custody Mr. Echolls.” A little quieter he added, “Take care of her. There’s a good kid in there somewhere.” Maggie tried to disguise her surprise at his name. She knew about Mr. Logan Echolls. When the trial was on TV Annie had watched in nonstop, obsessed. It was one of the few things Annie managed to focus on for any length of time. She used to say that she hoped he was guilty, that he would go to jail for the rest of his life. Now her behavior made sense. As always Annie had been blaming someone else for her life falling apart. She wanted him to be punished for saddling her with Maggie. Even if indirectly.

Maggie slung her bag over her shoulder, ready to follow Logan out of the station. Maybe she’d run then. Disappear before he ever had a chance to disappoint her. But she didn’t. Instead they walked side by side towards his rental. “Guess you got my penchant for getting into trouble. Sorry ‘bout that,” Logan joked. It was a reference to Deputy Meyer’s concern for her. It had to be.

Maggie shook her head, “I was usually picking up Annie.” The real split was probably 50/50. She did find herself places she shouldn’t be, but they never had anything to hold her on. Although her expression didn’t show it her mind had stared warring with itself. One side was staying staunchly in the leave before she got left camp. The other though desperately wanted someone to love her. And Logan was glancing down at her like he actually gave a shit. Like people looked at her before they decided she was more trouble than she was worth. One meal wouldn’t hurt though she told herself as she slipped into his rental car. Maggie might even learn something about herself.

The car was quiet as it backed out of the little police station parking lot. They were quieter. Her bag she held between her feet, easily accessible if need be. But she looked relaxed. And the seat was plush and comfy. Logan kept his eyes on the road, mostly. But occasionally he would look over at Maggie. He looked at her like she was a particularly difficult crossword puzzle. Apparently he wanted to solve her as much as she wanted to solve him.

“So where do you want to eat?” he asked.

A split second was all it took for Maggie to catalogue her options. Considering his name and his rental he had money to take her somewhere nice. And considering the guilt in his eyes he probably would. She didn’t really like those places though, never felt like she belonged either. He probably did though. But more importantly she was never good at spending other people’s money. Going somewhere she knew risked revealing more of herself. Then again she didn’t really go out to eat much anyway. “Take a right on Main and then a left of 9th,” she said, “There’s a little Greek place.”

It was still light outside, if barely. The sun was setting off behind the mountains. In all honesty Maggie was surprised it hadn’t taken him longer to get here. It was a little out of the way. “How old are you?” Logan asked breaking her out of her thoughts.

“Seventeen.”

“Seventeen,” he echoed. He sounded like she had, shell shocked. It seemed she had a little better handle on the whole thing. Or she was just better at hiding it. To be fair it was a lot. Clearly having a daughter was a shock. Having a seventeen year old daughter had to be more of one.

They didn’t speak the rest of the short ride. As the car pulled to a stop though Maggie turned to Logan. She had to do something to squash the hope in her chest before it broke her heart. “You don’t have to do this. The whole…charade,” she shrugged, suddenly unable to look at him, “We can just go our separate ways. You don’t owe my anything.” It was true. The fact that her whole family thought her a shameful secret wasn’t his fault. Now seventeen years later she had no right to expect anything from him.

“Margaret,” his voice was soft like a well-worn flannel.

“Maggie. I’m not 80,” was her automatic response. But she still didn’t look at him.

“Maggie,” he repeated, “Please look at me.”

It took another moment for her to lift her eyes to him. She was only barely holding on to her neutral expression and her sanity. The figuring her out expression had been replaced by something far more gentle. “There’s no charade Maggie. You’re my daughter. I’d like to get to know you.” He paused for a second becoming a little more nervous. “You don’t have to come live with me, but…”

“You were going to let me live with you?” Maggie couldn’t quite get the shock out of her voice. She was used to being lied to. Used to people saying that they cared and then walking out. But honesty, sincerity that she wasn’t used to. It pulled the scared little girl out of the box Maggie had put her in long ago.

  “You don’t have anywhere else to live do you?”

  “No, but…” she started to protest.

  “But nothing. If you want a house you can have it.”

           Tears blurred her vision. It was more than she had ever let herself hope for. “What happens when you figure out I’m more trouble than I’m worth?” she asked, voice a little rougher than she was aiming for.

           Logan gave her a crooked smile, “Then we’ll know you’re definitely mine.”

           It’s the first time Maggie has cried in front of someone in years. Embarrassed she got out of the car leaving her bag behind. After closing the door she leaned against the car, crying. It wasn’t quite all consuming sobbing. This wasn’t about theatrics to get what she wanted. It was four years of her life that she could’ve had a home instead of a house. And maybe seventeen years beyond that. She could’ve been different. Things should’ve been different.

           The slam of the car door was her only warning before Logan wrapped her in a tight hug. “It’s going to be okay now Maggie,” he murmured, “You’re okay now.” At first she stiffened, unused to the gesture. But then she started to cry harder even as her body relaxed. It was only further proof of a different life she could’ve had. But she could deal with all that later. Right now she needed to pull herself together.

           It only took a few moments. Of course her back was against the car, so she couldn’t quite escape the hug. “Alright,” she said, voice a little muffled by Logan’s shirt, “now that I’ve made things sufficiently awkward let’s eat.”

He took a step back, looking down at her. It was the sort of analytic look that made her shift uncomfortably. The real problem though was that he might actually have some luck seeing beneath her tough exterior. But Maggie smiled brightly. If she was going to sell it she had to really sell it. Luckily she had a lifetime of practice. “Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yeah dude I’m starving,” she replied, a little more playful than necessary and a lot more playful than she felt.

“Okay,” Logan replied like he didn’t quite believe her. But he didn’t push it.

She snuck out from between him and the car. “So what do you do if you can afford a rental car like that?” Maggie asked. While Annie hadn’t been able to stop watching the murder case four years ago Maggie had more important things to do, things that kept them both alive. But the reporters probably would’ve told her everything she needed to know if she had paid attention. But she was more interested in the whole not dying thing.

            Logan was giving her a funny look again as they walked through the front door. Maggie looked back up at him with no particular expression. Although she would never admit it the objective had changed. Instead of proving she wasn’t worth it she wanted to prove that she was. It meant being sweet, interested and revealing only the best parts of her past. “I’m a Navy pilot,” he replied after a moment.

Maggie gave him a chuckle, “So is it just like Top Gun or what?”

Logan laughed back, “Not exactly.” Then he asked, “What about you? What do you do when you’re not hanging around police stations?”

They stopped in front of the counter. It was a quiet little place and with school out for the summer it was even quieter. But the food was good. Above them fluorescent lights gave off harsh light and a faint buzz. Maggie took the opportunity to closely inspect the menu board. Even though she already knew what was on it. “You know school, work, trying to stay out of trouble,” she said in a practiced offhanded tone. It was the tone she used with teachers and social workers, her causal everything’s fine no need to look further tone. “So are you still in…” Maggie had to reach for where her mother grew up, “Neptune?”

“Yeah I moved back about five years ago,” he replied. After a moment he added, “You should go ahead and order. Get whatever you want.”

Maggie stepped up to the counter. Behind it stood one of her classmates. Not that she knew him very well. She wasn’t exactly a social butterfly. They would all probably disappoint her eventually anyway. “A lamb gyro and a Coke please,” she said. She probably could’ve gotten more. But spending other people’s money always felt a little too much like relying on them.

Logan stepped up beside her. “You sure you don’t want fries or something?” he asked.

Maggie bit her lip, debating internally for a minute. “Can you make that a combo with baklava?”

The cashier nodded.

“Can I get the lamb gyro with Greek fries and a Coke?” Logan asked. As he paid Maggie glanced over at him. To be fair she was analyzing him at least as much as he was analyzing her. He moved with a sort of effortless grace. She wondered if he had once been a dancer. But she didn’t ask. Instead they sat at their table and placed the plastic 13 where the waiter could easily see. Maggie fiddled with her unwrapped straw while their waiter placed their sodas on the table. She knew how to make small talk with people she’d never see again. She knew how to charm people. She knew how to keep her cool when she was burning with curiosity.

But she didn’t know how to make her father like her. Sure he said he wouldn’t abandon her. Everyone said that though and everyone left.

“Shouldn’t you be…I don’t know freaking out?” she asked. She had to know how he was keeping it together. She barely was and she had known at the very least that he existed somewhere in the world.

Logan shrugged, “I’ve had a couple of hours to get used to it. You should’ve seen me on the plane.”

“A few hours to get used to it?” Maggie asked incredulously.

Logan shrugged again, a little more sheepish this time, “My family has a history of insane things happening. Between that and the Navy training me to never appear surprised I’ve learned how to go with the flow.” After a pause he added, “Besides with how careless I used to be it’s not that surprising. If I’m honest with myself and I try to be.”

Maggie didn’t add anything to that statement. She didn’t really deserve his life story yet. “So, what’s the plan?” she asked. It seemed like the next logical question. She should probably have a funeral even though no one would come. Most of Annie’s dealers were in jail or dead, courtesy of Maggie. And she didn’t really have friends. It wasn’t going to be pretty. Even for all her faults Annie deserved a proper funeral. She didn’t know if Logan planned to stay for it or if he would let her drive to Neptune on her own later. She wasn’t sure if it would be nice to have him there either.

Logan thought for a moment. She waited, sipping her Coke like everything was fine. “I can stick around for the funeral if you want. Or I can fly back to Neptune and you can fly out after,” he said finally.

She’d never flown anywhere before and the prospect made her nervous. Not that she would ever admit it. But they could get to how she would travel to California later. “You can stay if you want,” she shrugged. A moment later their waiter brought them their food. She wasn’t brave enough to admit she wanted him to stay. The next few days would be difficult. Maggie would have to call the funeral home and the family she hadn’t seen in years. If she was moving she’d need to talk to her school, her landlord and her manager. But if it meant getting out of Montana it was worth it.

Logan shrugged. She noted the practice nonchalance in the action. “I might as well stay,” he replied.

They ate over more small talk. Mostly they talked about Logan. His time in the Navy, his long-term girlfriend who he wanted to propose to Veronica and his feelings about Neptune. He had a nice little life set up for himself, one that he was inviting Maggie to join. And one Maggie knew she probably wouldn’t fit in. It was too smooth, no room for her jagged edges. But she could try. Maybe the salt water would turn her into sea glass, smooth out her broken pieces and fog up her past. At the very least it would get her out of Montana and maybe she’d get a glimpse of functional. Currently Logan was talking excitedly about teaching her to surf. Maggie couldn’t help but smile. It sounded nice. It all sounded nice.

Their food was nearly gone and the last of their Cokes had disappeared. It was probably time to go. But Maggie wasn’t quite ready for the night to be over. Somehow Logan made her feel like he wasn’t going to walk away. Of course she was still wary. There were all sorts of things left to do. It wasn’t like she had started any of it at the police station. They should probably wrap this all up. Gathering her trash Maggie said,” Well I should probably let you get some sleep. Long day of travelling and all.”

Offering her couch was probably polite. But having him see her wreck of a house would not go well towards her appearing delightful plan. “Yeah,” he replied as if he wanted to keep talking too, “I need to call Veronica too. She worries.”

Maggie nodded, “Okay.” She paused, “And thanks for dinner. And everything.”

“You want a ride home?”

   She didn’t need one. It was a small enough town that she could walk. She usually walked. But a ride wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. “Sure, thanks,” she said with a smile. Minutes later they were climbing into his rental car. The ride back was fairly quiet. Maggie had spent the whole night prying into his life. She should probably lay off. But talking about her own life seemed unnecessarily dangerous. And Logan didn’t ask for more than she was willing to share. That meant the ride’s conversation mostly consisted of Maggie’s directions. Once in front of her house Logan slowed to a stop. She turned to him, bag in one hand and said, “So I guess I’ll see you.”

   One hand on the steering wheel and one hand running through his hair he replied, “I can drop by tomorrow if you want. I’ve done this kind of thing before.”

   Maggie didn’t ask. It was easy enough to guess. Instead she smiled and said, “That’d probably be good. Thanks.” She paused for a minute before adding, “And thanks for everything.”

   Logan nodded, “How does ten thirty sound?”

   Maggie nodded.

After a moment he added, “I’m glad we finally…” he trailed off clearly unsure of what to say. In his defense they didn’t make greeting cards for this kind of thing.

“Know the other exists?” she offered.

He laughed, “Yeah.”

With that Maggie slid of out the car. She gave Logan an almost nervous wave. He waved back, more sure of himself than she was.

           


	3. Rule #2: Shout When Appropiate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little tense at Annie's funeral

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for all the wonderful comments you've left! It's so exciting to see you asking questions. Hopefully my answers are satisfying!

Maggie dropped her bag at the entryway. The smart thing to do would be to sleep. But as she looked around at the mess she couldn’t quite stomach the idea of Logan seeing it the next morning. It was going to be another long night. She put in headphones, so at least her neighbors could sleep. Most of her cleaning consisted of throwing things out. Most everything from food in the fridge to Annie’s clothes went into large plastic bags.

It was nearly two in the morning when Maggie’s emotions finally got the best of her. She had been cleaning out the pantry. The task was just mindless enough to allow her time to think about all that had happened. She had lost Annie, yes. But Annie had never been a good mother by any stretch of the imagination. If she was horribly honest with herself it was better this way. Maggie was old enough now to know that Annie was trying to escape and she finally had. But that didn’t make Maggie feel much better. Mostly because she was part of the life Annie had always been trying to escape. But things could’ve been different. One call to Logan it seemed and Annie could’ve started over without Maggie. Sure Logan’s father Aaron had paid for Annie’s silence, but he was long dead and cold in the ground.

Angrier than she had ever been with Annie, Maggie hurled a plate at the wall. It should’ve been different. If Annie had taken a moment to think about what was best for her daughter she would’ve at least attempted to contact him. And considering the tabloids it wasn’t like he was hard to find. She hurled another plate thinking about Deputy Meyers too. He had known who her father was for four years and never breathed a word of it. Annie had least had the excuse of needing someone to take care of her. Deputy Meyers had no such excuse. He should’ve called Logan a long time ago. It wasn’t fair. She hadn’t done anything, but be born. And after that she’d only ever done what she had to in order to survive. It was all things she thought she had come to terms with. But those terms had always included a father who didn’t want her. Learning the truth had ripped open all the boxes she had stuffed her feelings into. As the fifth plate shattered against the far wall Maggie realized what she was doing. It just meant more of a clean up later. But the clattering sounded how she felt, jagged and loud. She threw one more before dropping off the counter. She deserved to be taken care of. She shouldn’t have had to grow up as fast as she did.

Picking up the shards went a little slower than destroying them had. Eventually, house clean and pile of things she couldn’t leave behind in the living room, Maggie collapsed on the couch.

Sleep was surprisingly easy. Probably because she was finally exhausted. The sound of someone pounding on the door eventually roused her. She sat up, brushing matted hair from her face. Sunlight, somewhat dimmed by blinds streamed in the window. The knocking continued. At first Maggie thought it must be Annie, too strung out or hung over to remember her key. But as her just woke up confusion cleared she remembered that couldn’t be true. Rather abruptly the knocking stopped. It seemed whoever was on the other side had decided she wasn’t home. She checked her phone to confirm her suspicions. Ten forty in the morning, which meant Logan Echolls, her father, was in her driveway getting back into his rental.

Her bare feet carried her to the door quickly. She threw it open and dashed out into the driveway. Sure enough Logan’s rental sat in her driveway, looking more than a little out of place in the shabby neighborhood. “Logan wait,” she called. Her voice held an edge of desperation, one in other circumstances she never would’ve let pass her lips. But she somehow couldn’t bear the idea of not having a chance at a life with her father.

Maggie didn’t hear the engine shut off, but she did watch, in something quite close to amazement, as Logan climbed out of the car. A smile spread across her face. She relaxed, posture slipping into something more comfortable. Logan on the other hand looked her over, analyzing. One eyebrow was raised in a somehow sort of understanding expression. In her rush to not let him leave Maggie hadn’t thought about her appearance. She was wearing last night’s clothes, which were already old last night. Her hair had to be a mess. And she didn’t even want to think about what her make up looked like. Her smile turned a little more self-conscious.

She shrugged, “I was too amped to sleep much last night.” And it wasn’t entirely untrue.

Logan smiled, the kind of smile that said he had been there too. “I thought you had disappeared on me there for a minute. Decided I was too uncool,” he said letting the subject drop.

“I mean I don’t know, but I think dads are supposed to be uncool.”

He laughed. And Maggie couldn’t help her smile.

“Do you want coffee or something?” she asked, half turning in a gesture that invited him in.

“Coffee would be good,” he replied. She hadn’t thought of it before, but Maggie guessed he hadn’t got much sleep either. They walked into the house. She forced herself not to watch him look around. People didn’t usually come to her house. She tended not to invite them over. She busied herself the coffee pot to keep herself from watching him.

“So I need to call the funeral home and then work I suppose,” Maggie said just to fill the dead air. “Annie owes the house. The only reason it wasn’t repossessed honestly…” She wasn’t entirely expecting a long response. But she had been expecting something. She turned to see Logan sitting on her couch, looking at something in his lap. Maggie frowned. She crossed the room, curious.

In his lap was a photo album. Annie’s mother had started it years ago and abandoned it last year at the same time she had abandoned them. He was still at the beginning. Baby photos of a giggling Maggie, a Maggie with mashed carrots all over her face, an innocent Maggie. Logan was too wrapped up in the photos to notice that she had walked over. She let him be. She wasn’t the only one who had missed out. There was a whole life he could’ve had too. Maggie couldn’t quite imagine how it felt to learn you missed your daughter’s first birthday, her first kiss, her first, well not going to Homecoming. She had to think it felt similar to learning your dad would’ve been there if he could.

Maggie disappeared into her bedroom for a minute to change. She pulled on her old familiar armor, skinny jeans, Fall Out Boy tank top and a leather jacket. When she returned to the kitchen Logan was still absorbed in the photos. The coffee pot had fallen silent indicating it was finished brewing. She got two mugs and poured coffee in both. Crossing the room with mugs in hand she said, “Coffee’s ready.”

Logan looked up, clearly startled. He relaxed almost immediately though. “I’m guessing the pink dresses were Annie’s idea,” he said, taking one of the mugs. He stumbled over Annie’s name as if it somehow sounded foreign in his mouth. Maybe it was. Last night he had called himself careless. Or maybe he had never expected Annie to become a teen mother. Maggie didn’t ask.

She laughed and it almost wasn’t bitter. Almost. “Yeah,” she pointed to one of the photos on the next page. She must’ve been about seven, in jeans and some soccer t-shirt. She added, “And that’s when I started dressing myself.”

“You play soccer?” he asked.

She shrugged. Then after taking a sip of her coffee she said, “I used to.” But school and a job that paid the bills meant she didn’t have time for soccer. That and registration cost money. Sometimes though when there was a pick up game at the high school she would pull on her old shin guards and kick the ball around. She missed it.

“Well I should probably get started,” Maggie said with a sigh. The truth was she was a bit anxious to get out of Montana now that it was a real possibility. And she wanted to make up for lost time. “Any tips?” she asked.

Logan set the album aside. He held his mug in one hand and ruffled his hair with the other. “Do you know what your mom wanted?” he asked. His voice was soft again.

Annie talked about dying sometimes. Always about the dying though, never about after. At the time it had never surprised Maggie that Annie didn’t spare a thought to the people she would be leaving behind. Now it meant she had to guess what was to be done as far as a funeral. She thought for a minute, weighing the options. “I think she wanted to be cremated,” she said finally.

Logan nodded. The first thing to do was to pull open her laptop to find a funeral home. He came round to sit at the kitchen table with her. For the next hour and a half they made funeral arrangements. Both the funeral home and the church were gentle, nothing but patient with her. It helped Maggie keep a handle on her emotions. She had enough something for Annie to feel sad that she was gone and guilty that it didn’t hurt her more. Then of course there was also the fear that came with possibly seeing her grandmother again. Their last fight hadn’t been pretty.

Maggie stared at her phone. She knew she had to call. It would be beyond unfair to not let her grandmother say goodbye to her only daughter. Somehow that didn’t make the conversation easier.

“I can call,” Logan said, “If you want.”

“No, I should do it,” she paused to swallow hard, hoping the action would give her courage. “Besides I think learning her daughter is dead and that the boy who impregnated her is in town would probably give the old hag a heart attack.” Still waiting on her courage to magically appear Maggie picked up the phone. She dialed the old number and put it up to her ear. A not so quiet and very determined voice in the back of her mind hoped that she would get the machine. Apparently she was lucky. Maggie breathed a sigh of relief, “Hello Isabelle. It’s Maggie. Um… they probably called you to tell you the news…that Annie passed away. I’m having the memorial service on Saturday at St. John’s at 3. You should be there.” With that she hung up the phone. She brushed her hair behind her ear. Turning to Logan she said, “There’s no one else to call.”

She watched as sadness transformed his features. “I don’t know if that’s better,” he said, voice hollow sounding.

Maggie’s brow furrowed, “Better than?”

“Hundreds of people showed up to my parent’s funerals. I think only three of them gave a damn. And one of those was me.”

She shrugged. She didn’t know if it was better. But it was what it was. There was no time or chance to go back and find people to love Annie. They sat in silence for a moment, contemplating. Their coffee had gone cold. Still she woke up her computer to send a few invitations via email. Without knowing they were current or if anyone would care.

As she typed Maggie could feel Logan watching her. It seemed he was trying to figure her out again. Or maybe still. She almost wanted to ask what was confusing him. If somehow nature had won out over nurture and she was more like him than he had expected. Or if maybe he thought she was a stranger, neither himself nor Annie. Or perhaps most frightening of all if she reminded him of Annie. Instead she didn’t say anything. After the emails were sent though it was time for the next thing on the list. Calling her school to let them know she wouldn’t be attending in the fall.

It was a short conversation. Surprisingly easier than the voicemail she had just left even though talking to an actual person was involved. When she hung up Logan was still watching her. She sighed, subconsciously channeling her fear and sadness into anger, “Could you stop psychoanalyzing me for like thirty seconds?”

Logan glanced down at the table, guilt written all over his expression. She had the decency to feel it herself, just less visibly. “Sorry, it’s just…” he paused, “I can’t believe how much of myself I see in you.”

And the sadness was back again. “Sorry,” she brushed some hair out of her face, “It’s just been…” Maggie trailed off, unsure of exactly what to call the last two days. Difficult seemed to be a bit of an understatement.

Logan gave her an understanding nod, “Yeah. Don’t worry about it.”

She half smiled back, glad that he seemed to understand. He had been through it after all. Her mind finally caught the meaning of his first words though. That he saw himself in her. Maggie paused to stare at him. “You do?” she asked.

He might’ve been blushing. She couldn’t quite tell, but he might’ve been honest to god blushing. He glanced down at his coffee. “You just…got my eyes. I think.” He shrugged.

She laughed. “Annie used to say that. And that I got your stubbornness,” she paused thinking of what exactly Annie had called it. It was more like fucking pig headed refusal to listen to anyone else. But it didn’t seem right to repeat that now.

“Well that’s a helluva burden,” Logan replied laughing himself.

“Eh, I like to call it determination.”

“Yeah I tried that too.”

Maggie smiled. It was easier than she had expected. Sipping her coffee she didn’t say anything more about her similarities to Logan. It might mean talking about the traits she had gotten from Annie. She’d rather not have any of those or at the very least she didn’t want to admit them. They finished up all the calls and emails that were required for Maggie moving away. They weren’t easy, but she managed them. Logan helped where he could, offering the insight he had gained. After they talked more. Still mostly about his life, but also about her school work. At the end of the day he went back to his hotel. Now that the house was clean she should’ve invited him to stay at her house. But she still worried. Her emotions were going to boil over and she’d rather he didn’t’ see that. Having the house to herself protected her somewhat. So Maggie said goodbye to her father for the night. Unsurprisingly she didn’t sleep very well. Although to be fair sleep never really came easily for her.

On Saturday she got dressed for a funeral. She had one nice dress from her grandfather’s funeral. Maggie was forced to pair it with her boots and a leather jacket. She had no other clothes. As for driving she drove herself to the funeral. She arrived first, unsurprisingly. Everything was already set up, which made it easier. It still wasn’t easy though. Logan arrived second. To her mild surprise. She thanked him for coming. Her voice though was a bit cold and detached. It was the only way she could get through the day. He seemed to understand though and didn’t press her.

Maggie took a deep breath. The only other person who she expected was her grandmother Isabelle. They hadn’t seen each other in a year, not since they had fought. But instead much to her surprise, Adam walked through the door. Adam was a friend of hers from school, one of the few. She hadn’t expected him. She hadn’t really expected anyone. “Hi,” she said with a faltering smile, “How did you…?”

Adam shrugged, “Mom. She said you weren’t coming back to school in the fall. And then I just did a little research.”

“Well thanks for coming Sherlock,” Maggie said and pulled him in for a hug.

“Of course,” he replied, voice a little muffled by her jacket, “How are you?”

She let him go, not sure how to answer the question. She shrugged, “It’s been… a lot. Annie was never great, but it’s weird for her to be gone. And then there’s…” She glanced over at Logan who was talking to the priest.

“Is that one of Annie’s boyfriends? I’m surprised one of them showed up.”

“Once upon a time…” Maggie paused. It was going to be strange to say it to someone else. “That’s my dad Adam,” she said in a low voice.

“Your dad?” Adam’s voice went up an octave.

Maggie smacked him, mostly gently, “Be cool, yeah?”

“Your dad though? Are you sure?”

“Pretty. I mean Hank down at the station found him. But remember four years ago the Bonnie DeVille murder case?”

“Yeah.”

“It was the only thing Annie could focus on. She was obsessed with it, only thing she could focus on. She was so sure he was guilty. Wanted him to get the chair,” Maggie shrugged, “And I mean they’re from the same hometown and his dad has enough money to pay for Annie’s silence.”

“And you’re going to live with him now?”

“It’s my dad,” she replied, “I have to give it a shot don’t I?”

“Yeah. I’ll miss you though.”

The nice thing Maggie was about to say died on her lips as her grandmother walked in to the room. “I gotta go,” she said giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Don’t cause another funeral,” Adam called after her.

She shot him a look. “Isabelle,” Maggie said with no emotion, “Thank you for coming.”

“Of course darling,” she replied going in for a hug.

Maggie took a step back. She had no desire to hug the woman who had abandoned her and Annie. “If you’ll excuse me I have a eulogy to give,” she said, but didn’t give Isabelle a chance to reply. Instead she turned and walked up to the little podium. Logan and Adam sat near each other in the front row. Isabelle sat across the aisle. Occasionally her grandmother would sneak glances over at her father clearly trying to figure out exactly who he was.

Maggie took a deep breath. She had written something very nice and mostly true. “Hello everyone and thank you for coming,” she said. She stopped for a moment as a couple, two of Annie’s drug buddies, slipped in to the back. After flashing them a grateful smile Maggie continued, “Annie…” She paused and looked down at her notes. The words written there seemed hollow. She didn’t say them. “Annie tried her best. And in the end she managed a roof over our heads and a few happy moments. She was young when I was born and it turned her life upside down. But she tried to be a good mother and a good daughter. And that’s all that really matters in the end. Goodbye Annie and I hope wherever you are you’re finally happy.” Maggie paused to swallow. “Thank you again for coming. And if anyone would like to say anything else.” With that she stepped down from the podium.

No one said anything for a long moment. She sat beside Adam, not quite ready to sit beside Logan. After another moment it was clear no one was going to say anything else. Maggie stood. It was what she had expected. She started to walk out, but Isabelle calling her full name stopped her. “Aren’t you coming with me darling?” she asked.

Maggie turned a look of disbelief on her face, “No, why in the world would I do that?”

“I’m your grandmother. We’re the only family we have left. We have to stick together right?”

“You abandoned us a year ago. Walked out and never looked back. Why would I want to live with you?” her voice got a little louder.

Isabelle looked visibly confused. “I thought it was the shock to Annie system. Make her turn her life around,” she said.

“Why would you think that? What evidence was there for that?”

Isabelle didn’t say anything.

“I’m going to live with my father. And that’s the end of it.”

“Your father? How do you…?”

“Deputy Meyers found him which is more than I could ever say for you.”

“I wasn’t allowed to. Your mother made a deal.”

“My mother was a child,” Maggie shouted, “And more importantly so was I. Whatever deal she signed couldn’t have been legally binding without your signature. And there were options after. Even if you thought keeping us from knowing about each other was the best plan, you could’ve saved me from growing up in a house with a drug addict. I could’ve been a child Isabelle. Instead I grew up taking care of Annie, which should’ve been your job. Not mine.” She took a pause only for breath. “So yes I’ll be trying my luck with the father who showed up the minute he knew I existed. “

Giving Isabelle no time for a rebuttal Maggie turned on her heel and left. She stopped though at the end of the hall to sincerely thank her mother’s, as it appeared, only friends for coming. They had received her email and come to pay their respects. She was grateful for that. She was grateful for Adam too, something she would let him know later. Later when she wasn’t so angry. Maggie kept walking. She would thank Logan later too.

The last few days had been a glimpse of what could’ve been. It had been a bit awkward yes and at times strained, but it was better. Her father wanted to get to know her, honestly with no apparent ulterior motive. And for the first time in a long time she had actually shared. At first it had been a one for one sort of arrangement. Logan would tell a story from his childhood and she would reply in kind. But after awhile Maggie found herself just talking. He was easy to talk to, apparently effortless in all he did.

And as the days passed Maggie found herself forgiving Annie. In truth she had been a child when she had a child of her own. It couldn’t have been easy, especially considering how little help she had from her own family. She had dreams of her own too. Annie used to talk about her dreams sometimes. At the time Maggie had felt guilty for taking them away or angry that Annie blamed her for something she had no control over. To be fair though Maggie wasn’t always the easiest child to deal with. Annie had managed to keep a roof over their heads. She had tried and that was all that mattered in the end.

Maggie drove through the streets of Bozeman. She was heading home via the scenic route. If she went home right now a few more plates would probably get broken. She needed to cool off first.

 


	4. Rule #3 Lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maggie finally makes her way to Neptune to her new home and hopefully her new family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for skipping last week. Between the holidays and traveling I didn't have time to finish this chapter. But hopefully the extra week means this one is extra good.

Eventually Maggie returned to her and Annie’s house. Waiting in the driveway she found Adam. She sighed. Logan’s rental was nowhere to be seen. She had probably scared him off. Maybe it was better this way, that he realized early she was trouble. For his part Adam didn’t even wait for her to get out of the car. Instead he slipped in to the passenger seat and stared at her for a long minute. Maggie didn’t say anything. “So,” he began, “That was…”

“Emotionally exhausting,” Maggie replied half hoping he would drop the whole subject.

But that was really a hopeless endeavor to begin with. Adam laughed, “That much was obvious Mags. Your dad and I were about to clap it out for you.”

“Seriously?” she asked. It was the rare occasion anyone actually clapped for her. Mostly they just pulled out smartphones and hollered.

Still laughing Adam said, “Yeah Maggie, it was badass.” For a moment he paused, expression not quite sure of itself. Maggie knew him well enough to know that meant he was deciding whether or not to tell her the truth, a truth he didn’t think she would accept easily. Finally he sighed. “I’ve seen you fight a lot of people. And I do mean a lot,” he said, ignoring her glare, “But I’ve never seen you stand up to your family. You were right Mags, you deserved better.”

Maggie shrugged, “I had accepted it. It might’ve sucked, but it was my life and it wasn’t exactly showing any signs of improving. Not like everyone I fought for. I only ever had the one option Adam.” She shook her head. Usually she was good with words. Snarky words, but words none the less. But now she found it difficult to express the sheer amount of emotion she felt. “But it wasn’t my only option. All this time I could’ve had a family, a home. I guess I never let myself think about that before now.” That wasn’t entirely true. When she was younger, and more recently even if she wouldn’t admit it, she would dream about her mysterious father and the life she could’ve had. “And its unfair to him to you know. I mean can you imagine? Finding out after seventeen years you have a daughter? Missing her first words, her first steps, her first boyfriend? And its not like Annie documented much. She probably wouldn’t have remembered my first words anyway. On top of it he gets stuck with me. Sarcastic, stubborn Maggie White who never met a rule she didn’t break and doesn’t exactly play well with others.”

“As someone who’s been stuck with you for a while now Maggie, it’s not that much of a burden.”

“You have to say that.”

“Doesn’t make it any less true.”

Maggie gave him a smile. Adam grinned back. She would miss him. Of all the people in her life he had always made an effort to be there for her. Even if he didn’t always manage it. He tried and that’s what mattered at the end of the day. When Annie was too much to handle, there was always room on his parent’s couch for her. His parents didn’t like her much, too violent for their taste she suspected. They always let her sleep on the couch though. “I’ll miss you Mags. Be sure you stay in touch,” he said giving her a kiss on the forehead.

“You too, “she replied, “And try to stay out of trouble. There won’t be anyone to save your ass now.”

“I’ve never needed rescuing,” Adam protested.

Maggie just smirked. She could let him have this one. Mostly because they both knew she had totally saved his ass on multiple occasions. “Speaking of Logan, where is he?” she asked.

“The café on fifth. He seemed to think you could use some time and space to cool off. Sounded like you got that fighting streak from him.”

Maggie didn’t point at that she certainly hadn’t gotten from Annie. It didn’t seem like much use now. But Logan’s even implicit revelation did bode well for their relationship. Maybe he would understand that sometimes, when she was angry, she said things she didn’t mean, that the cruel words just slipped out before she could bite her tongue. “Want me to drop you at home?” she asked. She should go talk to Logan. Now that the funeral was over it was probably time to move to Neptune. Which probably meant flying. She didn’t really have enough possessions to justify a drive. And her car probably wouldn’t make it out of Montana anyway. Dragging out this goodbye to Adam only made things more difficult.

“If its not too much trouble.”

“Never is,” she said, smirk softening to a smile. They were quiet on the drive to Adam’s house. Saying goodbye wasn’t easy, not when they had been through so much together. But it wasn’t enough to make Maggie stay. Adam would never ask that of her anyway. They’d had too many late night conversations about escaping Bozeman for that. And it wasn’t like they could talk as if nothing was changing, as if anything would be the same after today. Pulling in to his driveway Maggie tried to think of the right thing to say. They had technically already said goodbye, but she couldn’t just let him walk away. As the car slowed to a stop she went with honesty and a touch of theatrics, “It’s the end of an era Adam.”

Adam gave her his ‘you’re being a poet again’ look.

Ignoring him she continued, “I always thought it would be us. You and me against the world.”

“And I always thought you would fall in love with me.”

“Adam, I’m being serious.”

“So am I,” he replied. It was partially true. When they had first met Adam claimed to have fallen in love with Maggie. He even tried to serenade her once. Maggie explained the whole thing away as he’d never met a woman willing to have sex with him at a party before. It had taken some time to dissuade Adam from his crush, but eventually the romance fell away leaving only friendship.

“Maybe someday,” she said, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder after all.”

Adam smiled at her in a way that said he disagreed, but that he wasn’t going to say it. He knew her enough to know she never planned on loving anyone enough that it hurt when they left. Even if absence made one nostalgic. With that he got out the car and out of her life for the foreseeable future. “Bye Adam!” she called out the window, “Don’t you forget about me.”

“Bye Mags!” he called back and Maggie could’ve sworn she had heard a tear in his voice. If it had been any other time she would’ve called him on it, but now she didn’t. Instead she backed out of the driveway and headed towards her father.

Maggie drove a little more cautiously than usual. It wasn’t that she was usually unsafe, per say, but she did tend to be a little reckless. It was something that translated in to every area in her life. But she wasn’t exactly in a hurry now. She was, although she would never admit it, a little nervous. Half of her didn’t expect him to even still be there. Although from everything she had seen already Logan probably would’ve at least texted her before disappearing. Might’ve even called. When she saw his car in the café parking lot she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

Reaching for her emergency eyeliner Maggie fixed her makeup. It was the only armor she had at hand. Going back to her house for new clothes would take too long. She had sort of kept him waiting after all. As long as she didn’t cry she would probably be fine. Head held high she walked in to the small café. Logan sat at a table in the corner with a mug on the table and a phone up to his ear. After a moment of internal debate she approached the table first, cautiously. When he saw her he smiled a genuinely happy to see her smile. Maggie only caught the end of whatever conversation he was having. Nothing particularly interesting or revealing, not that she was eavesdropping. “Hey,” Logan said, slipping his phone into his pocket.

Maggie brushed a stray piece of hair out of her face, “Hey.” She felt more nervous now than she had in the car. Something about his effortless grace, maybe it was that it was more difficult to read him this way. She wasn’t sure if she should sit or not. Instead she sort of hovered by the chair. She wasn’t sure if she should apologize either. Her shouting match with her grandmother probably hadn’t really ruined Annie’s funeral for him. He probably wouldn’t have even known it was happening if not for Deputy Meyers. Plus Adam had said he found it badass. Badass was probably Adam’s word, but it at least summed up Logan’s feelings. Maggie had a feeling that Adam had been more forthcoming about her life story than she herself ever was.

“Sit, please,” he said, still with that warm smile, “Do you want anything?” Logan moved to stand.

“I’ll just grab something. Don’t worry about it,” she said. “Really,” she added when he looked suspicious. It only took her a moment to get a small latte. Upon returning she sat, still not quite sure what to say. Again she went for honesty, “Thank you for coming. It means a lot and I know it would’ve meant a lot to Annie.”

“I’m glad I could be here for you, finally,” Logan paused. There was something else he wanted to ask, but wasn’t sure if it was the right time. In the end he apparently decided to go for it because he asked, “The deal your grandmother mentioned…?”

Maggie nodded. It was something she had known about most of her life, her grandmother’s explanation for why she wouldn’t meet her father. Annie’s explanation was always more vicious. Before meeting him Maggie had always assumed that her father had known about the deal, had approved of it. It was clear now though, from the expression on Logan’s face that wasn’t true. “When Annie got pregnant she went to your house to tell you, but ran in to your father instead. She told him everything and he paid her to leave and never come back. He said that just because Annie had ruined her life didn’t mean she got to ruin yours.”

Logan didn’t say anything for a long moment. He didn’t look surprised, rather simply deep in thought. Maggie had to guess that his memories were recoloring themselves to make sense of this new development. Something his father had done or said now took on a different meaning. Finally Logan said, “He had no right to do that.” Although he stated as fact his voice carried an undercurrent of anger, of many other things his father had no right to do. “To keep you from me,” he added, now seemingly talking more to himself than her, “I can’t say I’m surprised but…”

Pulling himself from the past, Logan shook his head, “I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair, to either of us.”

Maggie shrugged, “It is what it is.”

They sat in silence for a moment, both processing. It was a lot to process after all. Logan then asked, “So should I book a flight for Neptune tomorrow or do you need a few days?”

She shook her head. There wasn’t much left for her here. There hadn’t been much for her here to start with. Anyway she had already said goodbye to Adam and dragging it out any longer just made for more pain. “What would I stay for?” Maggie asked.

Logan didn’t reply. He merely nodded. Pulling out his phone again he made a few quick taps. She waited, keeping it cool on the outside. Inside though she was worrying about flying the first time and exactly what kind of welcome she would receive in California. The night before she’d done some research of her own and that paired with Logan’s stories made her suspect she wouldn’t fit in. Glitz and glamor weren’t exactly her scene. But she’d figure it out. She was clever. Adaptable at the very least.

“There,” he said with one final tap, “Two tickets to Neptune California.” Looking up he smiled, apparently honestly glad they were getting to know each other.

Maggie grinned back, by all appearances less nervous than she felt.

Logan’s brow furrowed, seeing something in her expression. “I’m sorry too Maggie. I should’ve known. I was pretty messed up that year. I didn’t even notice when Annie left. When Aaron…” he trailed off leaving Maggie to fill in what exactly his father had done, “I should’ve realized.”

She shook her head. Maggie didn’t blame Logan, not really. To some extent she didn’t even blame Annie. Most of the blame she placed squarely on the shoulders of the only adults in the situation, her grandparents. Annie had not been ready to be a mother and by the sound of it neither had Logan. But there had been other options, other choices Isabelle and Aaron could’ve made. But now seventeen years later there wasn’t much any of them could do about that. All they could do now was move forward. “I don’t blame you,” she said, guessing that Logan needed to hear it, “And anyway at the end of the day there’s no way to make up that time. But you came when I needed you and we can go from there.”

It wasn’t that simple. It could never be that simple. But it was somewhere to start fresh from. “But all those other times you needed me…” Logan started to protest.

Maggie shook her head again, “You can’t swoop in to rescue someone you don’t know exists.”

He sighed. It was the same way Adam sighed at her sometimes, that he didn’t agree, but he would let it go. She smiled at him, determined to start her new life now. Even if cutting ties from her first seventeen years wasn’t that simple. Searching her expression Logan seemed to find something he recognized. “I won’t let you down Maggie,” he said with only solemn honesty in his voice, “I promise.”

She didn’t say that if he didn’t she would. One of them was going to let the other down. It was the way of the world like the sun setting in the west. But this was a new start and he wasn’t Annie. Maggie gave him a smile, “I guess I should start packing then.” She stood ready to leave. Logan stood too. For an awkward moment they stood across from each other, unsure how to say goodbye. His body language suggested he was considering and reconsidering a hug. Without a word Maggie hugged him. She felt, for half a second something she never had in a parent’s embrace, safe. Logan was stronger than his frame suggested, but it was his sincere promise earlier that made the difference.

Maggie went home to pack. It wasn’t difficult. She took photos from her short childhood, more for Logan’s sake than her own. Mostly she packed clothes. It was all she really needed from this place. Later she had dinner with Logan. Mostly they talked about the future. There were still a few weeks left of summer vacation before she would head off to Neptune High. One of his childhood acquaintances turned friends worked there and he would supposedly be happy to help her get situated. He tried to apologize for not knowing many “kids her age” except for a few new recruits in the Navy. Maggie helpfully pointed out that it would’ve a little creepy for him to know high school students anyway.

What she didn’t say was that she was still unsure it would all work out as perfectly as Logan imagined. She was a small town girl moving to the glitz of the 90909. She would probably stick out like a sore thumb. Instead she promised that she was good at making friends, not true, and that she was sure everything would work out just fine, also not true. But Maggie couldn’t bring herself to tarnish his dream. Not when he had lost out on so much already. Besides it was nice to imagine for a night the future he laid out before them.

The next day Maggie sold her car at the local used car lot, saying goodbye to the only thing that had been with her for her whole life. They had put the house up for sale too. Logan picked her up from the lot and they drove to the airport. She was quiet, more so than usual.

“Nervous?” Logan asked.

Full of false bravado she shook her head, “Please does the sun set in the east?”

“No,” he asked clearly a little confused as to where she was leading with the question.

“Exactly, and Maggie White doesn’t get scared.”

He laughed, but didn’t say anything more. In truth, Maggie was trying to remember everything she had learned about lift in physics. Remember how they would probably be fine would help. In the end everything went smoothly and soon they were at cruising altitude. She tried to sleep, knowing that there would be plenty of excitement after they arrived in Neptune. In the end she only managed a catnap.

They landed in Neptune to bright sunshine and a text from his girlfriend Veronica. She had gotten a lead on a case and couldn’t make it to the airport. Logan seemed unsurprised and just a little disappointed, but more in the universe than Veronica. They picked up their bags and started the drive to his and Veronica’s small house. His real car was even nicer than his rental. Maggie couldn’t help but stare out the window. Everything looked different. Where Bozeman was picturesque, Neptune was more picture perfect, shined and buffed at every corner. The sun itself seemed somehow brighter. Occasionally Logan would look over at her. He smiled every time. Perhaps he had been worried too, nervous that everything wouldn’t quite work out. But her rapt attention seemed to reassure him.

Logan pulled to a stop at a place called Dog Beach. She glanced over, confused. “Thought we could use a pit stop,” there was a sparkle in his brown eyes.

Still confused she followed him as he got out of the car. At the edge of the sand he took off his shoes and again Maggie followed suit. Looking down the beach she paused. In front of her was the most water she had ever seen in her life. It went on forever in to the horizon, glittering and sparkling in the sun. There were people out on surfboards, children playing the waves and someone with their dog. Now Maggie had been to the beach before. She knew how to swim and how to win at chicken. But she had never seen so much water in her life.

Logan was halfway down the beach when he turned to look for her. At her pure amazement he laughed. It was the kind of full body laugh that spoke of delight that his pit stop had made her so happy. She walked down the beach to join him. The sand squished between her toes and the air smelled of salt. The wind whipped her dark hair. “Just wait until you see it at sunset,” Logan said, smiling down at her, “It’s magic.”

Maggie wasn’t sure how it could be any more amazing. But Logan hadn’t lied to her yet. They stood together for a moment, waves lapping at their feet. She tried to imagine what it might’ve been like growing up next to the ocean, growing up with Logan as her father. She knew about his wilder past, the years of sowing his wild oats or whatever. All he needed, Logan had claimed, was a purpose, something to live for. In this universe that was the Navy. In another universe it might’ve been Maggie. Here, standing beside the ocean, she could almost see it. Long days learning how to surf and nights watching cult films or playing video games. It wouldn’t have been perfect, but it would’ve been better. Although to be fair anything would’ve been better than long days at work and nights holding Annie’s hand as she alternated between crying and throwing up.

“C’mon let’s go home,” Logan said.

She couldn’t help the way her heart warmed at his use of the word. But instead of saying anything she just nodded. On the drive home she kept gazing out the window. The more she saw the more the high contrast came in to sharp focus. Neptune was a place of great wealth, but also of great poverty. And very little in between it seemed. Logan slowed to a stop in front of a small house only a few blocks from the beach. Although all of Neptune was pretty close to the beach, so maybe that wasn’t impressive. Maggie wasn’t sure. Refusing his help she carried her things into her new residence. She didn’t let herself call it home. There was still too much chance that this might all fall apart.

Inside the house was modest with traces of the people who lived there everywhere. Veronica’s boots stood by Logan’s at the door, a scarf lay forgotten over a chair, pictures sat glinting in the sunlight on the bookshelf. It was nice, not so much bigger than the place she had just left. That fact put her a little more at ease. Logan showed her to her new room. It was more impersonal than the rest of the house, clearly meant for guests. Maggie grinned, “It’s awesome. Thanks.”

He left her to unpack. As she did she tried to find words for how she was feeling. There was relief, happiness to be out of Montana, but also guilt for being happy with Annie gone and Adam thousands of miles away. And some regret for not being able to save Annie. There was nervousness, fear that this was all going to crumble at her feet like everything else. Maggie closed her eyes for a moment, regaining control of her emotions. She needed to keep it together.

At the sound of voices she ventured back into the living room. She was on one hand hopeful that it was Veronica and they could get their first meeting over with and on the other nervous that the love of Logan’s life would hate her. Instead of a petite blonde she found a rather tall blond. Hearing her enter Logan turned and shot her a smile. The other man, his friend she could only assume, smiled too, but a bit more wolfishly.

“Logan man, you finally took my advice,” he took a step forward, giving Maggie a once over, “Traded Ronnie in for a younger model.”

Rolling his eyes at his friend Logan said, “Maggie this is Dick.”

Giving Dick a look over of her own she asked, “Oh is he overcompensating for what’s in his pants with,” she made an all encompassing sort of gesture, “all of this.”

Dick sighed exasperatedly then half turning back to Logan said, “I said docile man, docile.” Shaking his head at what he thought was his friend’s foolishness he added, “I guess no one can claim you don’t have a type.”

“Dick this is my daughter Maggie,” Logan said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

For half a second all the color disappeared from Dick’s face. He had the decency to at least feel guilty. Maggie grinned, her own smile like that of the cat that had gotten the canary. “Shit man,” Dick turned back to Maggie. He appraised her again, differently this time. She stood tall, looking him straight in the eye. “Why’d you never tell me?” he asked. For the first time his tone was serious, actually hurt that Logan had kept this from him.

Logan shrugged, “I just found out. We’re fresh off the plane from Montana.”

“Montana?”

“Do you remember Shelly Pomory’s cousin, Annie? She went to Pan High, I think,” Logan prompted.

For a long moment Dick had to think. Finally recognition dawned on his face, “Yeah she was at Shelly’s party. The one where…” He trailed off, a fact that surprised Maggie. He didn’t seem like one for discretion. But then again people had been surprising of late.

Logan only nodded, giving her no clue about what else had happened at that party.

Dick turned fully back to Maggie. This time his smile was wide and warm, sort of like a puppy. “Well welcome to the family Maggie. To her immense surprise, and slight discomfort, he wrapped her in a bear hug. He even picked her up from the floor.

When he set her down she gave him a smile back, “Thanks Dick.” In all honesty it was the warmest welcome she had ever gotten. Even including the part where he suggested that she was dating her father.

Turning back to Logan, Dick asked, “Are we still on for video games?”

Logan glanced over at Maggie, clearly unsure if he should say yes. She gave him a small nod, one that Dick didn’t notice. She didn’t want her presence to affect her father’s life negatively in even the slightest way. Still she bit her lip, unsure if she should stay. It would be cool to see her dad in his natural environment. In part to see his behavior with her was genuine and in part just to get to know him better.

“You want to play too? We’ve got three controllers,” Dick said. The way he said it implied that he hadn’t noticed her silent conversation with Logan at all. It was the sort of blissful ignorance she hadn’t seen in years.

Maggie nodded, grateful. With that they started playing. She wasn’t an embarrassment, but she wasn’t amazing either. Most of her video game experience was confined to Adam’s basement or trying to entertain herself at parties. Still she held her own. They played for a few hours, all shouting and cursing. At some point Dick and Logan got beers. Dick offered her one, but she declined. Drinking Maggie often wanted an actual fight and she would be meeting Veronica sometime soon.

Soon came as the sun set outside and Logan and Maggie were teamed up against Dick. “Logan?” someone called from the front door. A moment later a black dog bounded up and in to Logan’s lap breaking his focus. He paused the game causing Dick to groan. Ignoring Dick, Logan stood and walked over to her with the dog right on his heels. He only had attention for the petite blonde woman walking in. The woman grinned at him, but her eyes took in the room too.

“Booked another baddie?” Logan asked leaning down for a kiss.

“Almost. I’ve got him right where I want him though,” she replied after kissing him. Logan slung one arm around her shoulders, lacing their fingers together before they turned to Dick and Maggie.

Dick glanced from Maggie to the couple before standing. “Guess that’s my cue to leave. See you around Ronnie,” he said. With a smirk for Logan and Maggie he added, “Try to stay out of trouble you two.”

Maggie stood too. It felt like the right thing to do. She gave Dick a wave as he left. She hoped that the nervousness wasn’t obvious on her face. Veronica’s focus had gone from Logan to her in an instant. Veronica’s assessment was much more intense than Dick’s. Maggie imagined this was what it felt like to meet Sherlock Holmes, every piece of your appearance a clue. Veronica was suspicious of her, exactly why Maggie wasn’t sure. She had a few guesses though. “Veronica,” Logan said, disentangling himself from his girlfriend to stand almost between them, “This is Maggie.” After a half moment’s pause, “Maggie, this is, of course, Veronica.”

Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear she forced herself to smile, “Hi, I’ve heard a lot about you.” She stepped forward, offering Veronica a hand to shake.

Veronica shook her hand. “I’m sorry I can’t say the same,” it almost sounded warm. It almost sounded like she wasn’t trying to emphasize why none of them had heard much about Maggie.

“Veronica,” Logan said with an edge of pleading.

Maggie kept her plaster smile. This was only a minor setback, she could still come back from this. “Yeah, it’s been sort of a whirlwind,” she said.

Veronica at least agreed with that. “I assume Logan showed you your room and everything.”

“Yeah, he’s been awesome,” complimenting Logan had to be a good way to win her over.

Veronica’s smile softened, “Yeah. He’s always been generous.” She looked up at him, expression full of love. But there was something in the way she said generous that implied she meant foolish.

Maggie felt suddenly like an intruder. She stood awkwardly by the couch, waiting. After a moment Logan dragged his attention back to her. “Come on, you ladies must be starving,” he said.

They ordered pizza, one for Veronica and an extra large for Logan and Maggie. While they ate Veronica and Logan talked. Conversation passed between them like water. Their banter looked no more difficult to them than breathing. Maggie mostly listened, answering the occasional question or asking it. After diner they settled in to watch a movie. Logan insisted on _Easy Rider._ Simply he was shocked that Maggie had never seen it.

Veronica had just rolled her eyes smiling. “He made me watch it twice in the first month we dated,” she said almost conspiratorially. Almost.

They sat together on the couch with Pony, their dog, wedged happily between Maggie and Logan. As the opening credits rolled she had to wonder if this is what it would’ve been like. But she quickly stopped that train of thought. With Veronica still clearly suspicious this dream might be just that. It would just hurt to imagine a past that couldn’t happen or a future that was out of reach. After the movie Maggie excused herself to bed. It had been a long day and she was more exhausted than she realized. She changed into well worn pajamas and washed her face, all while refusing to speculate. She would let things come as they may. Her life here was not in her control the way her life in Montana had been. And she was just going to have to accept that.

She crawled in to bed, suddenly exhausted. The door opened, revealing Logan on the other side. “I think I’m a little old to be tucked in,” she said with a lopsided smile. She didn’t mention that even when she was young enough she rarely got tucked in. Usually it only happened when Isabelle was watching her.

“Don’t you have it in your heart to let a sentimental old man tuck his daughter in?” he asked smirking back at her and sitting on the edge of the bed. He paused. Maggie waited for whatever he had actually come in for. “How do you like Neptune?” he asked. The question was loaded with meaning, with fragile hope. Maybe she shouldn’t, but she found it reassuring that Logan was as nervous about the whole thing as she was.

“It’s nice, everything’s really nice,” she said the edge of sarcasm coming off her smile, “The ocean is amazing.”

“I can take you out surfing tomorrow,” he replied, “If you want.”

“Sounds awesome.”

“Sorry about Dick. He can be kind of a…”

“Dick?”

Logan laughed, the sound tinged with relief. Apparently it wasn’t the first time Dick had nearly embarrassed him. “And Veronica’s glad you’re here. Really. She can be a bit prickly…” he started.

Maggie shook her head. It wasn’t his fault his girlfriend didn’t like his new daughter. “She doesn’t like me. It’s okay I get it. I just waltzed in to your lives,” she said. She gave the same plaster smile as before. “She’ll come around. I take some warming up to,” Maggie was lying and she knew it. Well, she did take some warming up to, but it wasn’t that simple. There was no guarantee that Veronica would come around. From what Logan had said about her she very well might not. Maggie got the idea that once she had decided about someone that was sort of it, end of discussion. But Maggie smiled for Logan, all false hope.

“Yeah, I’m sure she’ll come around,” he said seemingly more for his own benefit than for hers. “She seems to like me plenty and you’re at least half me,” he added, grinning. It was a little forced, but Maggie said nothing.

Instead she went for a simple, “Night Logan.”

There was disappointment in his eyes, although exactly what for Maggie wasn’t sure. “Night kid,” he said before standing. Seemingly unable to help himself he pulled her covers up a little higher. When she raised her eyebrows at him Logan just raised his hands in surrender and backed out of the room.


	5. Rule# 4 Learn to Recognize a Losing Battle

The next day Maggie woke early to the sound of someone knocking. Cursing under her breath she dragged herself out of bed to open the door. On the other side stood a grinning and wide awake Logan. “Is the house on fire?” Maggie asked, knowing that it wasn’t. But he should have a good reason for waking her up at whatever god awful time it was.

“No. I promised to take you surfing,” he said with more perkiness than the average cheerleader. But it was somehow subtle. There was excitement in every line of his face, but Maggie didn’t find any of it false.

“Let me put on some pants,” she said before closing the door. Logan’s enthusiasm was infectious though and Maggie found herself smiling. Once she was dressed she grabbed a towel and met him in the hallway. Pony stood faithfully at Logan’s side, apparently also infected by his owner’s enthusiasm. “Is Veronica coming?” Maggie asked.

He shook his head, “She’s got work.”

“Shouldn’t you have work?” she asked. It had occurred to her only in that moment that he had to do something between deployments.

“Self employed,” Logan replied, but offered nothing more. He even started walking towards the car.

Following him Maggie raised an eyebrow. Self-employed could mean a lot of things. “Doing...?” she prompted.

“I write,” he shrugged, “Mostly it passes the time. But who knows maybe I’m the next Nicholas Sparks.”

She shot a raised eyebrow his way, “Somehow I doubt you write romance novels.”

“You’re right. It’s actually erotic fan fiction,” Logan replied as he slid in to the drivers seat of his BMW. It was more than obvious when what he had actually said hit him. He froze, half in the seat, half out. He looked like a moose startled by an approaching car, unsure what to do or if he should run. And Maggie completely lost it. She doubled over laughing. It wasn’t so much at what he had said as his reaction to it. With surprising solemnity he said, “This is why no one wants me to babysit their kids.”

After another minute when Maggie finally got ahold of herself she said, “Don’t worry. You’re looking at the nation’s number one author of erotic fan fiction.” She got in to the car, still chuckling.

Logan tried to look severe, “Young lady.”

She tried to look apologetic, but had to bit her lip to keep from laughing. She let the next moment pass as he backed out of the driveway. “Actually though,” she asked, “What kind of stuff do you write?”

He shrugged, eyes on the road, “Short stories. Some of them are about romance. Others are about redemption. Mostly though I just like to write about explosions.”

She didn’t press any further. From the way he talked she got the impression they were all deeply personal. She hadn’t found anything published during her one late night research session about her new family. That didn’t mean it wasn’t out there though. Either way if he wanted to share with her he would.

To the east the sun was just starting to rise. The air was cool against her skin. When they parked at the beach the lot was almost empty. Only one other car sat starting to gleam in the sunlight. Logan got out the car, grabbing one of the surfboards from the back. “Dick let me borrow his. It should work for now,” he said holding out the board.

She took it, unsure exactly why that might be a problem. After grabbing his own board Logan started down the beach. She followed. Pony too bounded after them, excited to be near the ocean. Instead of immediately getting in to the ocean though he set his board in the sand near the water’s edge, but still far enough away the waves wouldn’t pull it in. “We’ll try it without water first,” he said.

Maggie nodded. Logan started by explaining how to stand, showing as well as telling. He then prompted her to try it. On the sand it wasn’t hard. Long years of fist fights and running away from those fights had given her a certain amount of agility. Next they moved out on to the water. Just standing was still pretty easy. The whole time Logan grinned. Whether he was proud of her or just happy they were bonding she wasn’t entirely sure. But it didn’t seem necessary to ask. She ran into a little more trouble when she actually tried to catch a wave. On her first attempt she ended up falling into the water.

“I’d give it a six,” Logan said when she surfaced, “Next time stick the landing.”

Maggie glared with no real malice behind it. Her next try didn’t go well either. Once against she found herself tipping over into the ocean.

“You’re standing up too much,” he offered.

She nodded, making a mental note of the problem. She was determined to get it right. It wasn’t about making Logan proud. No, it was about her own gratification. Or so she told herself. Luckily her third time was the charm. She rode out the wave before paddling back out to Logan. The pair wore matching grins.

“See, the ocean’s in your blood,” he said.

“Okay, now that I’ve humiliated myself it’s your turn,” she replied.

Without another word he paddled out to catch some waves of his own. He moved with the skill and grace granted only by years of practice. They kept surfing for several hours. He was of course excellent and she was much less so. Still Maggie was overjoyed that he wanted to share this part of his life with her. As they surfed the sun rose higher in the sky and more people came to the beach. Around noon, when it started getting crowded they packed everything back in. Maggie had to shoo Pony into the back, insisting that she had called shotgun. On the ride back she curled up to take a small nap. Surfing, especially the clumsy way she did it, was exhausting. Logan let her sleep, humming along quietly to the radio.

Back at his house they had lunch. Pony pawed gently at their thighs, begging for scraps. Logan fed her a couple of pieces of ham saying, “Don’t tell Veronica.”

“What’s in it for me?” she asked jokingly.

He shrugged, “My eternal gratitude.”

“I can give you the friends and family discount where you toss in doing the dishes.”

He pretended to think hard for a moment. Then sticking out his hand he said, “You drive a hard bargain Maggie.”

She shook it with a smile.

After lunch Logan had some work to do. Some paperwork that needed filling out and some phone calls to make. He didn’t really get into specifics. He offered Maggie his car though, so that she could explore Neptune on her own if she wanted. She accepted. It would be nice to see Neptune and she was used to being on her own. Besides they’d spent a lot of time together for the last week or so and she didn’t want her dad to get sick of her this early.

Maggie drove to the most touristy part of Neptune. It seemed like as good a place as any to start. She walked among the half dressed tourists feeling a bit less out of place than she had since landing in California. While all the souvenirs were technically different all the shops felt the same. Everything in Bozeman had been rustic and perfect for a hunting cabin. Here it was coastal and suited for a mermaid’s lagoon. Still it was all cheap plastic and kitsch. She did end up buying a postcard to send back to Adam. Mostly she wandered though. After several hours, despite all the other people around and her solitary childhood she felt a little lonely.

With a sigh she went in to a coffee shop to grab a latte. She could probably go back pretty soon. Logan had said it wouldn’t take too long. Picking up her latte Maggie debated herself. She didn’t want to be in the way. But she also wanted to spend more time with her father if possible and maybe win over Veronica.

“Excuse me,” someone from behind her asked. From the man’s tone it was clear it wasn’t the first time he had asked.

Maggie turned. “Sorry,” she said, assuming that she was in the way.

“Are you Maggie White?” the man asked. He couldn’t be more than twenty five and looked painfully hipster.

“And you are?”

“Malcolm.”

She nodded before saying, “Nice to meet you.” But there was nothing in her tone that suggested it was actually nice to meet him. She had never been a big fan of strangers.

“You’re Logan Echolls long lost daughter right?” he asked.

“Who are you again?”

“Malcolm, I’m with the Instigator. I’d love to get an interview with you,” he was sort of like a puppy on ecstasy, far too eager and possibly drooling.

“And I’d love to be in the south of France, but here we are,” she brushed past him, hoping it would end the conversation.

It didn’t. “We can pay you,” he said following her outside, “It’d really make my career.”

Maggie whipped around, dark hair hitting him in the face. “I don’t see how its goddamn anyone’s business, but ours,” she said voice low and dangerous. She had read a handful of gossip articles in her life, but she found the whole industry gross.

“The people want to know Maggie.”

“The people can kiss my ass,” with that she walked off. She stalked to her car, glaring at anyone who met her gaze. Slamming the car door she whipped the car into reverse and drove out of the parking lot. There hadn’t been gossip magazines in Montana, but there had been plenty of people whispering behind her back. When she had first walked into high school she had been Maggie the girl with the addict mom. Quickly though she had fashioned a new label for herself, Maggie the girl who wasn’t afraid to clock anyone and everyone. It wasn’t all negative though. There were a couple kids who used to get bullied who called her a white knight of sorts. Still Maggie would rather people talked to her face than behind her back. She didn’t need her whole life on display for strangers all across America.

She pulled into the driveway to find two cars already parked there. Curious as to who was over she walked into the house. She heard only Logan and Veronica arguing in the kitchen. She froze in the hallway, listening.

“You bought her a car Logan? A car?” Veronica asked, an octave higher than it was last night.

“Yeah. She had to leave hers in Montana,” Logan replied as if that were obvious.

“And that doesn’t seem a little much to you?”

“No.”

“Logan. You don’t even know if she’s your daughter.”

“Have you looked at her Ronnie? Or talked to her? That’s my kid.”

“She’s her mother’s kid too.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”  

“Aaron paid her mother to disappear.”

Logan sighed, “I know.”

“You know? And you didn’t think I’d want to know that.”

“I didn’t think it was important.”

Not wanting to hear anything more Maggie snuck back down the hallway. She opened the front door and then slammed it shut. “Hello?” she called.

“Hey,” Logan said coming around the corner.

“Is there someone over?” she asked pointing a thumb towards the driveway.

Veronica appeared in the hallway behind him, smiling. But there was a coldness in her blue eyes. Clearly she thought this was a mistake.

“I bought you a present,” Logan replied with a mixture of nervousness and excitement in his voice.

“Does Christmas happen on a different day in California? Because I was pretty sure that’s not how time zones work,” Maggie said. There was a pit in the bottom of her stomach. It was a little bit guilt and a lot her own issues about money.

He shrugged in a way that said money had never been an issue. He then walked down the hall and looped an arm around Maggie’s shoulders on his way. “You know I felt bad that you had to leave yours in Montana, so,” Logan opened the front door, “It wasn’t a big thing really.”

“You bought me a car,” she said with more surprise than outright joy.

“It’s used,” he admitted.

Confusion colored Maggie’s expression, “You bought me a used car?”

“Yeah,” he blushed a little, “I figured anything too ostentatious might feel weird, but I didn’t think you would want to take the bus. Or have me drop you off.”

“I do want a chance to ruin my own reputation,” she replied with a smirk, “I’m of the understanding that having your dad drops you off makes you a dork.” Her smirk softened to a smile, “Thank you though. Really. This is…incredible.”

“You’re welcome,” Logan said.

She hugged him, hoping it expressed how grateful she was for everything he had done for her already. He hugged her back like he understood.

“If you want to help dad cook we should head over,” Veronica called from behind them.

“Head over?” Maggie asked.

“We have dinner with Veronica’s dad on Wednesdays. He knows you’re coming,” Logan paused, “If you want to.”

She didn’t let any of her thoughts into her expression. With the whole Veronica not liking Maggie thing her dad might have the same suspicions. Or her dad could convince Veronica that Maggie was lovely and not a whatever they called a girl gold-digging her father. They probably had a word for that out here. Her other option was sitting here alone for the evening. Plus from the look on his face Logan wanted her to go. “Okay,” she said nodding, “yeah I’d like to.” Maggie looked down at her outfit, “Should I wear something nicer?”

“No, Dad’s pretty casual,” Veronica said as she walked towards them. “Your car or mine?” she asked Logan.

“Either,” he shrugged.

“Well my keys are already out. Plus I locked the front door,” she replied with an innocent smile.

From Logan’s chuckle Maggie got the impression she used that smile a lot. “Sneaky Bobcat, sneaky,” he gave her a kiss.

They all climbed into the car, Logan riding shotgun and Maggie in the back with Pony. It was quiet as they drove. Maggie wouldn’t really know what to talk about anyway. Instead she scratched behind Pony’s ears and looked out the window. Eventually they pulled into a small apartment complex, Sunset Cliffs. Maggie followed behind them with Pony by her side. At least one member of Logan’s family liked her.

Veronica knocked on apartment 101. Logan stood up a little straighter. A moment later when the door opened she grinned. “Hey Dad,” she said giving him a hug.

“Hello Keith,” Logan said giving him a hug too.

Maggie stood awkwardly as all three pairs of eyes turned to her. Keith was a shorter man whom the years seemed to weigh heavy on. But his eyes were kind and he smiled at her. She gave a wave, “Hi.”

“You must be Maggie,” he said putting out a hand for her to shake, “I’m Keith, Veronica’s dad. It’s nice to meet you.” Unlike his daughter he sounded like he actually was glad.

Maggie allowed herself a small smile and shook his hand, “It’s nice to meet you too.”

“Well come on inside,” Keith said stepping back, “I hope you like burgers.”

She nodded enthusiastically. After they were inside Keith closed the door behind them. A pit bull came bounding in, barking and wagging its little tail. By her feet Pony barked too, obviously excited to see her friend. Veronica knelt down. “Hey Copper,” she said, letting the pit bull lick her face. Logan went over to the refrigerator to grab a beer.  

Maggie stood awkwardly by the door.

“How was the flight over?” Keith asked.

“Good,” she said nodding, “I was a bit nervous. Never flown before.”

“Really?”

Maggie shrugged, “Yeah. Not a whole lot of money for it.”

Keith nodded. He seemed to understand that it wasn’t the best topic of conversation for her. Of course that was kind of obvious. “I know some good father daughter bonding activities if you need any suggestions,” he offered.

“Thanks,” she said sincerely. Then with jest in her tone she added, “Although we were on a stakeout just last night, so we’re covered on that one.”

He chuckled, “I take it Logan told you about Veronica’s high school detective work.”

“Yeah. It sounds like she helped a lot of people.”

There was a note of pride in Keith’s voice as he said, “She does.”

Maggie kept her smile firmly in place. Honestly it kind of sucked to hear about how Veronica would help other people and yet was so suspicious of her. But it wasn’t that big of a deal. She was a pretty big surprise after all. And it wasn’t the first time someone had claimed to be Logan’s family. Understanding her reasoning though didn’t make it any easier.

“Veronica will come around. She’s a bit…over protective sometimes,” Keith said with a smile of encouragement, “I think she feels guilty for how much she’s hurt him.”

Maggie shrugged, “I just wish she didn’t think I was who Logan needed protection from.”

“She’ll come around.”

Maggie nodded. She brought up her smile a couple of notches. Everyone said that Veronica would come around. But Maggie was less sure. Everyone had also said that Annie would get better and she never did. Everyone said a lot of things, but that didn’t make any of them true. But she had handled disappointment before. She could handle this too. Hopefully this was one of the times that wouldn’t involve punching anyone.

Before long they were all gathered around the grill. Maggie mostly listened. For the first time feeling like an outsider hurt. It wasn’t a new feeling. All her life she’d been just outside a normal life. But she’d accepted that and it didn’t bother her so much. Now though she was letting herself hope for normal. It would come in time though. All things took time. Or she hoped it would. Occasionally Keith or Logan brought her into the conversation by asking her a softball question or just what she thought about whatever topic they were on.

Despite her own feelings though it was nice. Family dinners in Montana more often then not ended in tears and screaming matches. Annie was usually the one crying and she was the one screaming. Isabelle did the whole only calm person in the room routine, which Maggie could never stand. In California however they talked about Mars Investigations latest cases and what sort of trouble Logan was or wasn’t getting himself into.

The next week went well, mostly. Maggie and Logan spent plenty of time together, sometimes wandering Neptune, sometimes surfing and sometimes at home with Pony or Dick watching movies or playing video games. Veronica spent most of her time out on cases, but sometimes joined them. When Maggie wasn’t around, or rather when Logan and Veronica thought Maggie wasn’t around they fought. Mostly it was about Maggie. She only caught snippets of it, enough to understand. It was rare that Veronica and Maggie spent time alone.

Maggie was at a loss for what to do. There was seemingly no way to convince Veronica that Logan was her father, despite their obvious physical and mental similarities. And even if she could be convinced Veronica still believed Maggie to be her mother’s daughter more than anything else. Which meant that she was there for Logan’s money and little else. The fact that Logan was generous with his money only compounded the problem.

One night, about a week and a half after Maggie had arrived in Neptune, Veronica walked in the front door. Pony bounced up to her, barking and nipping at her shoelaces. “Logan?” she called, “Did you see the cover of the Instigator this week?”

Maggie stuck her head out from the living room, “It’s just me. I think he’s out with Wallace.”

“Oh,” Veronica appeared obviously deflated.

It was that oh that brought Maggie to the end of her rope. She marched over to the end of the hallway. “God, what is your problem with me?” she asked.

“I don’t…” Veronica began.

“Please. I know when someone doesn’t like me. I’m sort of used to it by now.”

“Fine. I don’t want Logan to get screwed over by another person pretending to be his family,” she admitted. There was no guilt, regret or shame in her voice. But Maggie wasn’t a fool. There was more to Veronica’s dislike of her than that. It seemed to her that Veronica was the quintessential only child, bad at sharing.

“Oh fuck you,” Maggie said taking a step forward, “I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask for a car or a home or even for Logan to come get me from Montana. I didn’t even know who he was until Hank told me.” She shook her head to keep from shaking with anger. “I have spent my entire life trying to be anyone but Annie. I thought you, of all people, might understand that. “Maggie had mostly overheard about Lianne with her new family and her alcoholic past. She knew enough about addict parents to know it would still be a sore spot.

Veronica said nothing. She finally had the decency though to look ashamed.

“And I’m sorry if the idea of Logan loving someone as much as you is so goddamn terrifying. But I don’t know if you’ve noticed the man loves like the ocean,” Maggie continued. She paused, enough of her anger gone to consider what the fallout from this argument would do to Logan. It was easy enough to see his discomfort every time the three of them were in a room together. He hated that they didn’t get along, but couldn’t convince Veronica to change her mind. Shaking her head again, but more in resignation this time she said, “No, you know what I’m not doing this to him. I’m not going to ask him to chose.” She turned on her heel.

“Wait,” Veronica called, a edge of pleading in her tone, “Maggie what are you doing?”

Maggie didn’t even spare a glance over her shoulder, “What I should’ve done back in Montana.” It was almost easy to stuff all her belongings into her old backpack. Maybe because part of her had always known this was how it would end. It was too much to ask to find a happy home at seventeen. Especially for her. After all her life had mostly been one disaster after another. Tears welled up in her eyes as she crammed the last of her clothes into her bag. But she didn’t let herself cry. She brushed past Veronica who stood dumbfounded in the hall. Pony tried to follow, thinking it was time for her walk. Maggie slammed the door in the little dog’s face.

 


	6. Rule #5 When You Care For People Fight For Them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm a little bit late (and not sure if I'll make it for next week), but here's the new chapter. I would like to shoutout to kmd0107 for helping me with formatting and beta-ing.  
> Also I know this seems like it might be the end of the story, but its not. There are still a few more obstacles for Maggie, Logan and Veronica.

Maggie walked. And kept walking even as Veronica called out after her. She didn’t take the car. In fact, she took nothing that Logan had bought her, except for a strip of picture from a photo booth on the boardwalk. He could sell the rest, find himself no less off than when she had showed up in his life. After awhile Veronica’s shouting faded into the distance, or maybe she’d given up trying.

Maggie didn’t know where the nearest Greyhound station was. Her best guess was somewhere near downtown though, so she headed in that direction. As she walked she half expected Logan to drive up, ask her to stay. She would say no. She couldn’t make him chose between her and the love of his life. It was easier to leave rather than be left. She kept walking.

It didn’t take long for her to get a little lost. It was dark and she wasn’t familiar with Neptune in the first place. She headed towards the ocean, figuring she could orient herself from there. There were more people down by the ocean. A group of them, twenty somethings all with previously broken noses, started catcalling her. It wasn’t anything she hadn’t heard before.

“Hey sexy!”

“Want to see a real man’s dick?”

And so on.

If it had been any time in the last week and a half Maggie probably wouldn’t ignored it. Maybe shot a glare over their way, but nothing out of her way. Now in her angry and sad emotional state she paused, “How about you all go home and fuck each other?”

“Hey come on don’t be like that.”

“We’re just trying to compliment you come on.”

And so on.

“Really?” Maggie asked, dropping her backpack onto one shoulder. She was ready for a fight. All her angst and anxiety translated into tensed muscles and adrenaline. “And how exactly did you think this conversation was going to go? That you’d ask if I wanted to see your dick and I’d say yes?” she asked.

None of them said anything for a long moment.

She waited.

“Is that a yes?” one of them asked tentatively.

“No,” Maggie replied rolling her eyes, “God you’re as dumb as you are ugly.” She paused before speaking very slowly, enunciating every syllable, “I don’t want to sleep with you. No woman wants to sleep with you.”

They shouldered the guy who had asked if she was saying yes, “Are you going to let her talk to you like that?””

“Are you going to pull your heads out of your asses anytime soon?” she asked.

The whole thing sort of went downhill from there. But Maggie had been itching for a fight and a fight she got. But as always the odds weren’t in her favor. She ended up on the pavement with a bleeding lip, at least bruised ribs and a host of other scratches. Maggie was used to it though, the crunch and scrape of her skin against pavement. Pulling herself to her feet again and tasting the copper of her blood in her mouth Maggie smiled. This she was good at. She was good at clenched fists and torn clothes. When she was little, her Marine neighbor had taught her to fight. That and when one gets in enough of them one gets pretty good at throwing punches. She spit onto the pavement. Her fist connected soundly with one of their previously broken noses. The sound probably should’ve been sickening. But Maggie had too much adrenaline to be too upset about it. It wasn’t that she relished causing other people pain. More that she needed an outlet. She carried so much anger and frustration in her bones. And it was easier to be angry than hurt. She hated feeling hurt. And right now it felt like her heart was breaking.

But when she kicked one of them in the gut and he doubled over Maggie felt at least satisfaction. Soon though she found herself on the pavement again. To be fair there were three of them and only one of her. She felt the impact of a boot against her ribs. Her heart pounded in her ears. This might’ve been too much. Sucking in a sharp breath Maggie tried to keep from blacking out.

“Fuck off,” someone called. Thankful for the reprieve Maggie focused on breathing.

“It’s none of your business ese.”

“I said fuck off.”

“She’s not even one of yours.”

“Doesn’t mean I’m going to watch you beat her up.”

There was a pause as the men currently standing over Maggie weighed their options. In the silence she dragged herself to her feet. It didn’t hurt yet, but she would. Despite having heard the whole conversation she was a little surprised to find four Latino bikers standing off with the white boys. “Out of the frying pan,” she muttered to herself.

“Fine. She’s not worth it anyway.”

“Have fun with your broken nose,” Maggie spit.  

Surprisingly they disappeared without a remark. Whoever these motorcycle boys were they had scared off the fuckboys. The one who had spoken stepped forward, “You alright?” He was tall, not lanky but not built either, with plenty of ink to match his leather jacket and motorcycle. But his eyes and his voice were soft. He couldn’t be much older than her either.

“Peachy,” Maggie replied as she wiped blood from her lip.

“Can you call someone to pick you up?” he paused, “Or take you to the hospital?”

She dabbed at her lip trying to figure out how much it was bleeding. “I said I was peachy okay?” she replied, looking intently at her thumb to avoid looking at him. She tried to pick up her backpack, but stumbled. She probably would’ve ended up back on the pavement if he hadn’t caught her.

“Just peachy?” he asked.

Maggie let out a huff of frustration.

“Just let us help you get home Peachy.”

She pulled herself from his arms, refusing to let the pain double her over. She could deal with physical pain. It was a nice distraction, really, from the emotional pain. “I can handle myself,” she said by way of explanation.

“C’mon you need some sort of medical attention.”

“Why the fuck do you care?”

He shrugged, “Guess my mama raised me right.” There was something behind his eyes that said that wasn’t the answer. Something that said his “mama” wasn’t exactly part of his upbringing. She recognized it from herself. It was that gave Maggie pause.

“I’m not going to a hospital,” she said. A hospital, as she had learned long ago, insisted on calling your parents when you were a minor. She couldn’t face Logan right now, not like this.

A smile pulled at his lips, but he put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “There’s a monster first aid kit at my uncle’s garage,” he said.

This was how horror movies started. Maggie could practically see the headline, Girl gets on motorcycle with gang member, never seen again. Not that anyone would care for long. Anyway she did need at least some painkillers. “Alright,” she said.

He let his lips be tugged up in a smile, “Cool. I’m Sebastian by the way.”

“Maggie,” she replied and took the helmet he held out for her.

“I think I’ll stick with Peach,” he said with a smirk. He then said something in Spanish to the other motorcycle riders and they took off. It felt a little less ominous once they were gone. If Maggie was honest.

She tried not to move as the motorcycle twisted and turned through the streets of Neptune. The vibrations of the bike made that difficult. Breathing was starting to hurt too. Sebastian pulled to a stop in front of Navarro’s Auto Garage. The name tugged at something in Maggie’s brain, but she couldn’t quite but her finger on what. She climbed off the bike, wobbling as she did so. Sebastian steadied her, ignoring her insistence that she was fine. They walked together into the garage’s office. Inside a bald Hispanic man sat at his desk looking over paperwork. His single earring glinted in the florescent light. His shirt was neat, a button down that while the correct size didn’t seem to fit quite right. Maggie guessed that he was Mr. Navarro. He turned as they walked in. “ _Quien es?”_ he asked. Maggie knew just enough Spanish and had enough context to know that he was asking who she was. It was a fair question considering the state she was in.

“Maggie,” Sebastian replied. They then had a quick conversation in Spanish which she didn’t understand. Context told her that it was about her though.

The man nodded. Turning his gaze to Maggie he said, “Welcome Maggie. I’m Eli.” He paused before adding, “Try not to bleed on everything.” There was a joke in his tone, telling Maggie that once upon a time someone had asked him not to bleed on everything.

She gave him a smile and a salute, “You got it sir.”

Both men laughed clearly finding anyone calling Eli sir to be amusing. Their laughter was interrupted by a phone ringing. Eli looked at it and excused himself to take it.

When the door shut Sebastian told Maggie to please sit. He grabbed a large first aid kit from a cabinet near the door. “I can do it myself,” she protested, sitting on the edge of the desk so he wouldn’t have to lean down or anything.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Instead he soaked a cotton ball with alcohol before dabbing the scratch above her eye. Maggie pursed her lips but said nothing. Sebastian laughed, “Yeah, I know you can take care of yourself.”

He turned, rifling through the box for a band-aid. “Why?” Maggie asked, “Really why?” There was no trace of the anger or aggression in her voice. For once she was just honestly curious, and a little confused. People didn’t generally help her. Either because they thought she could handle herself or because they had no interest.

He shrugged. “You know most people don’t question when someone saves their ass Peach,” he said as he placed the band-aid over the corner of her eyebrow.

“I’m not most people.”

“Yeah I got that,” Sebastian replied with a lopsided smile.

In spite of herself, Maggie smiled back. “Thank you,” she said quietly. She wasn’t used to it, being the one saved. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

For a long minute Sebastian didn’t say anything else. He focused on patching her up and for once she didn’t protest. “I can probably convince Uncle Eli to let you stay the night. He acts all tough, but really he’s a big softie.”

Maggie was about to reply, say that wasn’t necessary when Eli walked back through the office door. He was looking at her different, searching almost. In the split second before he spoke she knew that the jig was up. She looked at her bruised hands instead of either of the men in front of her. “I just got the most interesting phone call,” Eli said. Maggie glanced up for a moment before looking back down at her hands. “Your father’s worried sick. I don’t think I’ve heard him this upset since V left for Stanford,” he said.

“I’ll grab you some ice for your ribs,” Sebastian announced before sneaking out of the room.

She waited until he was gone to say, “It only would’ve hurt him if I stayed.”

“And you’re sure about that?”

“Veronica hates me. She thinks I’m just after Logan’s money.”

Eli laughed in a way that said he knew all about Veronica. It clicked suddenly in her head that Eli Navarro had been better known in high school as Weevil Navarro, a not quite friend of her father and Veronica. Of course everyone in this town knew each other. “V hates everybody,” he said before adding, “at first.”

When he paused again Maggie looked up, “If you tell me she’s going to come around I’m going to scream.”

He laughed, then shook his head, “Logan Echolls with a kid… never thought I’d see the day.”

“I don’t think he did either.”

Something flashed across Eli’s face, some sort of understanding that Maggie didn’t quite catch. She got the sudden feeling though that he was seeing something of her father in her. She said nothing though, not sure if he expected her to say anything more. “Not that my opinion means anything, but I think you should give V another shot. If only for Logan’s sake,” he said finally, “Dude’s lost enough family already.”

Maggie didn’t say anything. She wasn’t sure what to do. Her plan for the future hadn’t involved Logan even looking for her, let alone finding her. As much as her survival instinct resisted, the rest of her wanted it to work. All of her already broken little heart wanted a family and a home. But her brain kept whispering that it was bad logic to stay. After all it had never worked out before why would it now? “How long until he gets here?” she finally asked.

“Less then ten,” Eli paused as if deciding if he should tell her something or not, “And V’s with him.”

She nodded.

“That’s probably enough time to finish getting you patched up,” Sebastian said walking back through the door, ice pack in hand. She appreciated that he didn’t ask any more questions. Taking the ice pack she held it to her side, feeling some relief almost immediately. Sebastian handed her a couple of painkillers too. Eli disappeared into the main garage. She guessed to talk to Logan and Veronica first.

She glanced over at Sebastian, curious as to what he was thinking. He seemed about to commiserate, but was unsure if he should. In the end he said nothing. Maggie tried to focus on what she might say, what she could say. Obviously she felt bad for leaving. There was no way she couldn’t feel bad after everything Logan had done for her. But hurting him now would be better than hurting him later. Maggie couldn’t imagine a future where she got to stay, a future in which Veronica changed her mind.

“Thank you, Weevil. Really man, it means the world to me,” she could hear Logan, muffled through the office door.

Sighing Maggie sat up. “That’s not your best plan Peach,” Sebastian said, but made no actual move to stop her.

“Gotta face the music Juice,” she replied and hopped off the desk she had sat on while he had mostly patched her up. With that she walked into the main garage, and found both Logan and Veronica. Despite all her best intentions the look of relief and joy on Logan’s face brought tears to her eyes. Annie had never looked that happy to see her. “I’m sorry,” she said her voice suddenly rough. “I just…I thought it would be easier.”

She heard the office door shut and could only assume that Sebastian had stepped out behind her. She didn’t care. She didn’t care that Eli and Veronica were watching them either. Logan walked over and wrapped her in a hug. She winced, although still trying to hide the pain. “What happened?” Logan asked.

Shrugging Maggie said, “I picked a fight.”

Eli laughed quietly to himself, “Yeah she’s definitely Logan’s.” Veronica elbowed him in the side. But she looked somber, guilty even.

Logan shook his head before saying, “No, why did you leave?”

She glanced over at Veronica, confused for a second. There was no way they hadn’t talked about it. No way he didn’t know already. Then Maggie realized that he was asking for her side of the story. “I thought it would be easier. Leaving now instead of later.”

“You know I said that to Veronica once,” he paused, “Then I realized that when you care for people you fight for them.”

“I couldn’t ask you to chose. The love of your life or me? I know how that ends.”

“I thought things were getting better,” he said.

Maggie shook her head and tried, unsuccessfully, to swallow the lump in her throat. “Everyone says that, that things are going to get better. They don’t. They never have. Annie never got better. Isabelle never got better. None of Annie’s boyfriends got better. It only ever gets worse. Why would I stick around to hurt you like that?” And now she was actually crying. This was exactly what she had hoped to avoid.

“Because I was wrong,” Veronica said, speaking for the first time.

“Veronica,” Logan said.

“No, Logan she’s right. I know you want to fix it, but this is my fault. Not yours,” she said taking a step forward. Ignoring whatever Logan might have to say Veronica turned to Maggie, “All the proof was there and I just wouldn’t see it. That wasn’t fair.” She sighed, resigned to her own faults, “I didn’t even read the Instigator article until after you left.”

Maggie blinked, trying to clear the tears from her eyes. Everything she had never let herself hope for was standing in front of her. She had seen enough false apologies to know that Veronica’s wasn’t that. The blonde meant it. “I’m sorry too,” Maggie said, “For what I said.”

“You were right. I should’ve understood,” Veronica replied softly.

Maggie wiped a tear from her cheek. She really needed to pull herself together.

“So you’re coming home?” Logan asked, hope in every syllable.

She nodded, not trusting her voice. She liked the sound of that. Going home. Still trying to get a handle on her crying Maggie turned to Sebastian. “Thank you,” she held out the ice pack for him to take back.

“You should probably hold onto that Peach,” Sebastian said with a wink.

He wasn’t wrong. With a crooked smile she pressed the ice pack back to her ribs. When she turned though her smile faltered a little. Maggie still couldn’t quite believe it. This was not the future she had imagined. Not in her wildest dreams did she see their new little family working out. “Thank you,” Maggie said, nodding to Eli. He only nodded back. With that she followed Logan and Veronica out to his car. They were quiet on the ride back. For her part Maggie was exhausted. It had been an emotionally and physically draining day after all.


	7. Rule #6: Choose the Right Sort For Yourself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, its been awhile. Coming back to university means I haven't had the time to work on this little story. I wish I could tell you when I'll be able to update next, but honestly I have no idea. But thanks to everyone who stuck around for this long wait and hopefully I'll see you soon.

Those last two weeks of summer Maggie was, for the first time in a long time, happy. There were still missteps, awkward moments and nights Maggie still worried it wouldn’t work. But for the most part things were dandy. She and Logan spent time surfing, watching movies and talking late into the night while waiting up for Veronica. He worried about Veronica. It was easy enough to see, but he would never try to talk her out of her chosen career. At this point he clearly knew it was a hopeless endeavor. After their initial mistrust Maggie and Veronica got on wonderfully. Building on their shared appreciation for Logan they found other commonalities. Besides their mothers’ addictions, they had curious minds, snappy comebacks and the occasional bout of girlyness. But their shared insatiable thirst for truth did lead to confrontation.

It had started innocently. Sitting in the kitchen while Logan washed dishes Maggie had offered to work at Mars Investigations, like Veronica had during high school.

“No,” Logan said with finality that Maggie had only heard in his voice when they talked about his father.

“Why not?” Veronica asked as though she couldn’t understand his objection, “Its not like I’d send her on cases.” But Maggie understood his concern. After all whatever Maggie’s step-grandfather had intended Veronica had gone out on cases at Maggie’s age. And those cases had nearly gotten her killed. More than once. And Veronica might not be around to see Logan’s worry for her but Maggie was.

“I can’t,” Logan said, not looking at them. He shook his head and then something cracking under his voice said, “I know this is your life Bobcat. I’ve made my peace with that. Hell, its part of why I fell in love with you. But I can’t worry about both of you.” He turned and Maggie knew what came next. Logan was going to make a joke, pretend he wasn’t terrified. “Have pity on my poor nerves,” he said adopting the drawl of a southern belle.

Maggie shrugged before saying quickly, “It’s fine. There are other jobs.” For her part Veronica had deflated. The wheels in her head were clearly turning, running situations she hadn’t considered before. They both turned to Maggie, relief in their expressions. Even after all the years it was still a touchy subject.

After that the subject didn’t come up again. Maggie got another job at a bookshop outside of downtown. It was steady work, but without too much customer interaction. And since it didn’t come up things went smoothly for all of them. Sometimes when she was at work or out with Logan or something she felt like someone was watching her. Following her even. She chalked it up to her being paranoid. Her life in Bozeman had sort of been a look over your shoulder kind of life. Especially after she started taking care of Annie’s dealers.

The night before school started Maggie found herself at the traditional last day of summer bonfire the 09ners threw at Dog Beach. Mostly it was cheap beer and getting hit on by douchebags. She’d spent most of the night snapchatting Adam about it all. While it had been awhile since her last lay she couldn’t really bring herself to bother with the practically already frat bros. Maggie was just about to give up on the whole party when she glanced up to see Sebastian, with a small posse, walking her direction. He had seen her too. It was evident that he walked and determinedly looked in any direction but hers.

She smirked. “Fancy seeing you here,” Maggie said when he was within earshot.

He smirked back at her, but there was still a kindness in his eyes that she had noticed in their first meeting. “You dress up nice Peach,” he replied then gesturing to her eye he added, “You can barely see your shiner.”

Maggie’s smile went crooked. It was almost a compliment. “The magic of concealer,” she said.

She was about to say something else too when they were interrupted by one of the 09ners. “What are you doing here?” the blonde surfer dude asked. Maggie could smell the beer on his breath even from several feet away.

“It’s a public beach,” Sebastian replied clearly ready to stand his ground.

Maggie glanced around as people were starting to stare. Sebastian’s friends had taken notice too. Obviously this could end badly and quickly, considering how many more 09ners there were than Sebastian’s friends. “Anyway he’s talking to me,” she said, one hand on her hip.

The bro’s attention shifted to her. He gave her a wolfish smile. Maggie’s other hand went to her other hip. She could probably get away with punching him. Sebastian on the other hand would get his ass kicked. “You’re new to town right?” he asked, but didn’t give her a chance to respond. Instead he continued, “There are other people to talk to here. Wouldn’t want to make friends with low-lifes. I can help you with that.”

Several responses leapt immediately to Maggie’s mind. But something in his turn of phrase made her smirk. She turned to Sebastian who looked absolutely ready to fight. “Does that make me Harry Potter? I think this makes me Harry Potter,” she said. That made Sebastian smile. She couldn’t help noticing how attractive his smile was. But she still needed to finish diffusing the situation. She turned back to the bro who clearly had no idea what she was referring to. “I think I can figure out the right sort for myself thanks.”

“What?” the bro asked.

Maggie just laughed. “You want to get out of here?” she asked Sebastian. She made sure though to make eye contact with the dudebro though, just enough to stick it to him that she was choosing the low life.

Beside her Sebastian chuckled. “Yeah I’d like that.” She couldn’t quite tell, but she guessed that he too was taunting the dudebro. It was so easy after all.

Now that Sebastian had agreed Maggie turned to him, smiling. The dudebro tried to say something else, but she just ignored him. It wasn’t important anyway. She might have to worry about it at school. But she had never been popular in Montana, so it didn’t really seem all that awful to be unpopular here in Neptune too. Continuing to ignore the dudebro they walked towards the parking lot. In Montana there might be a chill in the air to signal the coming of fall. But California was warm and humid even at night.

“Maybe I should drive,” he said as they arrived at her car.

Maggie couldn’t disagree with that. Her alcohol tolerance was high, but there was no reason to take the risk. Not when she had a perfectly willing designated driver. “Long as you promise not to kidnap me,” she said fishing out her keys.

He winked, “Think I can manage.”

For the first time Maggie slid in to the passenger seat of her car. She wondered briefly about his bike, but decided not to worry about it. Her fourth, or was it fifth, beer was kicking in. She felt warm and comfortable curled up in the seat, watching Sebastian get the car started. “Why did you come to this thing? It doesn’t really seem like your scene,” she asked. He glanced over at her with a sparkle in his eye. Quickly she added, “If you say you thought I would be there I’m barrel rolling out of this car.”

Sebastian chuckled. “I never miss a chance to mess with those fuckboys,” then tapping her on the nose added, “You were just an added bonus.”

“Always good to have a hobby,” Maggie replied. They lapsed into silence for several minutes. The silence was comfortable though. She glanced out the window, watching the streetlamps passing at regular intervals. “Where are we going?” she asked.

Sebastian shrugged, “I want to show you somewhere Peach.”

She looked over at him and the twinkle in his eye. In that moment she knew this would break her heart. She was never good at relationships. She didn’t mean to ruin them, but she was always too guarded or too suspicious or just too much. And it always left her heart broken, not that she admitted to it. But he was clever, kind and handsome to boot. And she guessed too that they shared more than the just a hobby of teasing fuckboys.

“What?” he asked, taking his eyes from the road just long enough to glance over at her.

“Just trying to decide what teen movie you think you’re in.”

Sebastian laughed, but made no actual reply. Maggie turned away, watching the road. After several more minutes they pulled into the parking log of his uncle’s garage. Raising an eyebrow she said, “I hate to have to be the one to tell you this, but I’ve already been here.”

Shaking his head he said, “Just follow me Peach.” With that he slid out of the car and didn’t bother waiting for her. Of course she followed him. Instead of going inside they climbed up to the roof via a back stairwell. On the roof was clearly Sebastian’s hideout from the world. There was a cooler, a few chairs, a large wool blanket and a few other miscellaneous items. To Maggie it looked almost cozy. She’d had a place like this back in Montana. It was just a little clearing in the mountains where she could let her tough exterior fade away. The way she figured it everyone needed someone to hide away from the world.

Maggie turned to give him a smile, unsure what to say. And there she felt it again, looking into his twinkling brown eyes. Whatever happened this was going to break her heart. She could love him so easily and lose him just as easily. The only question was whether or not she was going to break his heart too. Her grandmother’s warning to her mother years ago rang in Maggie’s ears. _Act like a slut and they’ll treat you like a slut._

Still smiling gently she sat on the blanket. “You want something to drink?” Sebastian asked from behind her.

“I’ll take a Coke if you have it.”

A moment later he sat beside her on the wool blanket, two Cokes in hand. Unable to look at him for a moment Maggie turned her eyes skyward. The sky here wasn’t like at home. There was no big sky here, no bright stars. Here, on this rooftop though, it was quiet. “I missed this,” she said, “The quiet.”

“You like the quiet?” Sebastian asked disbelief clear in his tone.

Maggie laughed, “Yeah especially when it’s you being quiet.” She turned to him. They were both lying on their sides, noses no more than a few inches from each other. She could see every one of his long lashes. He was handsome, even as she got a better look at him. She wouldn’t tell him that though. Words like handsome were for boyfriends. She wouldn’t do that to him.

“I have some bad news for you Peach,” he replied with a glowing smile.

And there it was: her perfect opening. “Shut up,” she said before closing the distance between them. Kissing him made her feel warm and safe somehow. She’d never felt like that kissing someone. Pulling him closer Maggie needed it to feel different. There was no way he wasn’t feeling the same moment of coming home like she was. Not judging by his sigh of contentment anyway.

He pulled back to whisper against her lips, “Are you sure?”

She kept her eyes closed for fear of what he might see him them. “Yes,” she sighed in reply.

After they lay still, side by side under the stars. But Sebastian had thrown another blanket over them in case someone should come up. Maggie knew she had to leave, no matter how much she wanted to stay. She gathered her clothes which luckily hadn’t gone far.

“Are you going?” he asked and she had to close her eyes against the disappointment in his voice.

“It’s getting late,” she replied.

“Let me drive you.”

“It’s alright. I can handle myself.”

With that Maggie left. She had thought very seriously about kissing him one last time before going. But she knew she shouldn’t, knew she couldn’t. She didn’t even bother with the radio on the ride home. Now the quiet though felt oppressive. It felt like all the things she hadn’t said were weighing down on her. When she got home both cars were in the driveway, but the kitchen light was still on. That meant that Logan had waited up for her. Steeling herself Maggie walked in.

Indeed Logan sat at the kitchen island, bent over a manuscript. He looked up, all fake nonchalance as she entered. “How was the bonfire?” he asked.

“Fine,” Maggie replied.

“Are you alright?” there was concern in every line of his face.

“Have you ever done a bad thing because the only other option was worse?”

“We all do it sometimes.”

Maggie nodded. It didn’t make her feel better. There would be consequences to sleeping with Sebastian. She knew that. There were ones she didn’t care about like her reputation. But there was also the likelihood of him thinking she was using him. She could never explain she was protecting him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Logan asked as he stood.

She shook her head, “No.”

He pulled her into a tight hug. “I’m here to talk if you ever want to,” he said. Maggie nodded against his chest. He then gave her a kiss on the top of the head before letting go. “Night kid,” he added.

“Night,” she replied.


End file.
